Piro-san's Fan Fiction Corner
by Piro-san
Summary: This is inspired by DZ2's Den of Delights. Any ideas for Naruto Stories will end up here. Read at your own risk peeps. Rated M - For a reason. Many Pairings. Both Fem!Naruto and Naruto! Bloodline!Naruto. Genius!Naruto. Godlike!Naruto and many more! Plus many more Genres.
1. Chapter 1 - Konoha's Undead King

**..::..**

 **Hello there, I bet you're wondering … is this guy for real – he's writing** ** _another_** **story? I know it seems like it but since the original plan I had for Uzu's Musketeer is on hold, and since I spent** ** _way too much_** **time away from the Internet, I've caught up with my many Manga and Manhwa books that I've neglected since starting to devote my spare time to writing Fan Fiction.**

 **Here's what I intend to do: I'm re-writing Uzu's Musketeer, but instead of its own story, it'll be a part of a Fan Fiction that I can post random ideas or chapters in to. If any are familiar with DZ2 then, it'll be similar to their 'Den of Delights' idea.**

 **So, Uzu's Musketeer gets a rewrite and I get an outlet for the many single chapter ideas or random, stray story ideas that I may not be able to shake off – a win-win no?**

 **So here's the first idea that I've had that I wasn't entirely sure of at first, but then the idea simmered and eventually I actually pondered the idea. It's an idea sprung from a Manhwa called 'Immortal Regis', and I love the story, a wee bit dark in some areas but I recommend it. ^_^**

 **So on to the story. If it gains enough support, I may re-post them as individual stories but … it might be easier to have them all in one location.**

 **..::..**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR IMMORTAL REGIS.**

 **..::..**

 **KONOHA'S UNDEAD KING - CHAPTER ONE.**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Biiju/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Biiju/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Naruto didn't know why he was heading towards the unfinished bridge, that he and his teammates had decided to continue to protect, but there was _something_ there that called to him. Naruto had always felt the most at peace when surrounded by air, but ever since arriving at Wave and smelling the salt of the ocean, a sense of complete peace engulfed him – like a warm embrace that welcomed him home.

It was if his blood was connected to the ocean in some way.

Naruto was brought from his thoughts by the sounds of hard labour, and he knew he'd arrived at the bridge. Looking over at the workers, he felt a sudden shiver go down his spine. He followed the feeling and came face to face, eye to eye with a peculiarly dressed girl. The first and probably the strangest thing about the girl were completely ignored by the blonde haired youth, as they continued to stare deeply into each other's eyes. His royal blue eyes bored into her ominous red coloured eyes. Her hair colour was a pale white colour and her strangely decorative dress suited her otherwise delicate appearance – gothic, Naruto remembered after seeing a few styles whilst in his **Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique)** form. **[AN1 – Reference at bottom]**

The girl was about his age; maybe a year or two older, and her beauty even surpassed that of his long time crush and teammate, Sakura Haruno. As they continued to gaze into the other's eyes, the first thing that his mind picked up had _finally_ caught up with him and his eyes widened in surprise – she was slightly see through!

Normally Naruto would've screamed to the world and exclaimed his findings loudly, but for once he felt no need to do so. He didn't know why, whether it was something about the girl, or even where they were, but something was tickling the back of Naruto's mind. Why did this girl and the location seem so familiar – as far as he knew, Naruto had never even been to Wave before … had he?

The girl finally blinked and like a spell that had just been lifted, Naruto finally blinked as well. He blushed brightly as she smiled cutely at him, she opened her mouth to say something but it was distorted by the ambience of the men working around them. A crestfallen look replaced her small smile and a tear slid down her cheek as she faded.

Naruto actually cried out at the sight, and it drew the attention of the bridge builder Tazuna. He looked at Naruto, and then to the blank space that he was staring at and then back again. He walked off muttering about stupid, crazy blondes.

Naruto frowned at the man, sure he wasn't a genius like Sasuke, or more appropriately, like his brother Itachi but he wasn't stupid – he was far from it in fact. The truth was that it just took him a lot of effort to concentrate; it was as if there was _something_ stopping him from thinking straight. Then there was his undernourished body, Naruto knew that he should eat more meats and vegetables but the hidden beauty of ramen, was that he could taste if he was being poisoned or not. It had actually happened once, before he discovered Ichiraku's Ramen Stand.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he decided to leave. Though his mind was plagued with thoughts of that beautiful girl – he was so deep in thought that he literally bumped into his pink-haired teammate Sakura Haruno.

"Naruto-baka, watch where you're going," Sakura shouted, as she raised her fist to hit him over the head. She stopped however, as for once in her time knowing Naruto, she actually _looked_ at the blonde – something was different and it looked _wrong_ on his usually bright face.

"H-Hey Naruto, a-are you feeling okay?" she stuttered.

There was genuine concern in her voice and Naruto blinked back to reality once more – he realised that his crush was speaking to him, but for some reason the image of that girl flashed into his mind. For some strange, inexplicable reason … he felt no romantic attachments to Sakura anymore.

What was happening to him?

"I-I don't know, I …" Naruto began, before blinking once more and levelling a truly confused look at his teammate. "I don't know Sakura-cha … Sakura-san."

The quiet correction in his last statement, coupled with his tone had Sakura recoiling in shock. Naruto wasn't shouting, he wasn't annoying her by being overly familiar with her and he sounded genuinely confused – not his usual annoying confused, but he seemed so … lost. Something about this Naruto pulled at her heartstrings.

"Look Naruto," Sakura began. Why was she doing this? "Um … do, do you want to talk about whatever's b-bothering you?"

Her response was not what she was expecting. For the first time since knowing him, Naruto was silent for a few minutes before he sighed softly and nodded mutely to her question. He glanced at her and she gasped – was his forehead underneath his Hitai-ate glowing? Sakura blinked and the glow was gone … just what was going on?

"I-I'm so confused Sakura-san," Naruto whispered. He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "I-I've never been here before, my home is Konoha, but since arriving here … I'm confused. My mind and body are struggling with each other – my mind tells me to embrace this feeling of peace, but my body struggles to find a connection. Here in Wave, my mind feels so clear and focussed, but _something_ is holding the rest of me back."

Naruto didn't know it, but as he revealed his feelings to Sakura, his body was slowly releasing more and more chakra. A pressure soon formed and Naruto suddenly gripped his head as unfathomable amounts of pain shot through him. Sakura gasped as Naruto gripped his head screaming in pain, a figure suddenly appeared next to her and ripped off Naruto's head band.

The figure growled in a feral manner before quickly running through hand signs. Sakura bore witness to Naruto's bare forehead covered in angry red looking writing, and before she could cry out, the figure shouted out a "Kai!"

The stranger shouted in frustration and called to Naruto – for him to focus.

"Sakura!" a voice shouted.

She turned to see a horrified looking Ino Yamanaka, a fully alert Shikamaru Nara and a dazed looking Chouji Akimichi. Then that meant that the stranger was – their sensei: Asuma Sarutobi.

"Damn it Naruto, focus! Listen to my voice kid and focus!" Asuma shouted in what she thought sounded like a desperate tone.

The strange red writing flared and Naruto screamed in pure agony. The pain in his voice attracted the attention of the bridge workers, which had finished for the day and Sasuke – who'd been protecting Tazuna for the day. Kakashi appeared moments later and barked at the Gennin to get back. Naruto grunted and a look of pained concentration took over his features, seconds later the red writing faded, and with it came an unexpected change.

Naruto's features were changing.

It was like someone had poured dye over his features, as his hair became as black as night with a single, bright blood red streak going down his fringe, and his tan faded into creamy pale skin. His very bone structure looked like it was melting away as his chubby cheeked appearance melted into soft but angular lines. Everybody from Konoha, but mostly Sasuke immediately noticed – they were Uchiha Clan features! Like someone had just punched him in the stomach, Naruto gasped in an attempt to refill his lungs with precious air. Doing so, however let them look into Naruto's now two toned eyes – one that beautiful royal blue, and the other a pure amethyst purple colour.

Naruto groaned in pain and a chuckle was heard, Naruto immediately stirred and faced the voice.

"Asuma-nii, is that you?" Naruto's now quieter but deeper voice spoke.

"Easy kid, you just had Heritage and Suppression Seals removed, you need to rest," Asuma replied.

"H-Heritage Seals … but they're not legal," muttered Ino in a quiet tone, though everyone heard her.

The other Gennin began muttering conspiringly to each other, all except Sasuke. He remained still, staring at Naruto … another Uchiha but how – no, it had to be a mere coincidence that he looked like an Uchiha. Those thoughts weren't sticking for long though as Naruto moaned about his head and eyes hurting – Sasuke had to check, eyes hurting was a sign of the Sharingan awakening, unsealing or no.

"Dobe – no … Naruto," Sasuke spoke up, it caused the others to look at the Uchiha in shock. "Channel chakra into your eyes!"

Naruto glared at Sasuke, but was cut off from retorting when Kakashi barked at him to do it as well. Confused, Naruto sighed but obeyed his sensei. He channelled chakra to his eyes and the other Gennin and two Jounin all gaped when a second stage Sharingan looked back at them instead of his new eyes, its two tomoe spinning excitedly as if happy to be revealed. Sasuke fell to his knees in shock.

"T-There's another Uchiha, one that's actually alive!" he exclaimed, an actual tear forming in the corner of his eye.

"What do you mean," Naruto spoke in confusion, though his brain was quickly catching up and he hissed as information that he'd forgotten returned with a vengeance. Training with Asuma and Kurenai, before Asuma left to join the Guardian Core for one more tour – to help train the next generation. Kurenai becoming distant, meeting Dog aka Kakashi when a protection detail on his birthday went south … flashing memories all going in and out of focus, his breathing sped up and he began to hyperventilate. His last memory was of the Village Elder Trio, Homura, Koharu and Danzo before darkness took him.

"Naruto, calm down," Asuma soothed. "You're going to hyperventilate."

Too late, as Naruto saw darkness creep into his vision, their voices becoming distorted and the last thing he saw or heard was of the beautiful girl smiling and saying, "Come for me."

 **..::..**

"Wait!" cried Naruto as he suddenly woke up.

He found his arm outstretched in a grabbing motion, as if to stop he girl from leaving without that smile. He gasped and took several deep breathes, he'd never hyperventilated before and he decided that he didn't like it. Calming his heart and breathing was oddly easy for Naruto, like his mind and body were finally at harmony with each other. He exhaled and ran a tired hand through his long hair – wait … long hair? Snapping his gaze open he cautiously took in his surroundings, his mind effortlessly recalling even the tiniest of details – no matter how small it might be.

'Interesting, I've never felt so in control before,' Naruto marvelled, before a memory struck him. It was when training with Asuma and Kurenai. He was learning the concept of Genjutsu and the revelation to the red eyed young woman, that he could retain information just like his father – wait what? His father … he remembered! His father was the Yondaime Hokage, which meant that his father was Minato Namikaze: The Yellow Flash!"

He instantly searched his memories for information on his mother, and just like with his other memories, they were instantly recalled. His mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the Red Hot Habanero, her other moniker was 'The Red Death', so named for her utter fury on the Kiri Battlefront in the Second Ninja War.

His mind laid out the facts to him as clear as his foggy mind could.

His father was a war orphan, Father a Namikaze and Mother Unknown. Status: Deceased.

His mother was also an orphan, Father a Senju and Mother an Uzumaki. Status: Unknown.

Namikaze Clan – Originally from the Land of Lightning, nomadic in nature – not tied to any village … Clan believed extinct.

Senju Clan – Considered Royalty in Konoha and one of three founding Clans – tied to Konoha … only formal living Clan Member: Tsunade Senju.

Uzumaki Clan – Royal Family of Uzu and the third founding Clan of Konoha – tied to Uzu – Allied to Konoha … Clan exterminated in the First Shinobi War – survivors unknown.

'I guess it's safe to assume that father's mother may have been an Uchiha,' Naruto concluded easily. 'I guess the Sharingan didn't materialise in its entirety, but if he was able to utilize the **Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique)** so freely without drawing tunnel vision, then he may have at least inherited their eye resilience.'

Naruto blinked and then started to panic, how the hell did he know all this? It was like his mind was a damn dossier – argh, another word he didn't know before.

"What … what's happening to me," Naruto whimpered before he took a breath and answered his own question. "These are … m-memories, I … was sealed? Why … I remember an accident, the Elders …"

"The Elders what Naruto?" a voice broke his thoughts.

Without even realising it, Naruto's Sharingan activated and levelled a glare worthy of an Uchiha to the other person. It was Asuma, with Kakashi leaning against the closed door.

"I-I remember the Elders, they sealed me but I don't know why," Naruto recollected.

"I can answer that for you Naruto," Kakashi replied in a serious tone. The other two looked to him and he took it as permission to speak. "You still looked like your father back then, but you were also an Uchiha. Your features were changing too rapidly to be considered natural, your intellect alone was worthy of a Nara, but the council feared you. There was an accident, your birthday to be precise. A rogue Chunin found you and tried to kill you, we stopped him but he attempted to Seal your 'demon self' away first. He half sealed your entire mind away and the only way to stop you from dying was to seal the rest of it. We were still trying to find out who gave the Chunin the Seal to begin with … I guess we have our answer."

"There's a problem Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied, also using a serious voice that didn't belong to a child. "I have no demon, the Hokage mentioned that I had the Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed within me … but there is only my chakra inside me."

Kakashi and Asuma gasped, Kakashi pulling off his Hitai-ate to verify, whilst Asuma checked his stomach for a seal.

"H-He's right Kakashi," Asuma gulped before he hissed. "Did my father know of this?"

"I would assume so Asuma-nii," Naruto replied promptly. "He would have access to my father's journals as they were/are both Hokage."

The statement was met with an intake of breath from Kakashi and Asuma almost cried at the affectionate term of endearment. "Y-You really do remember everything don't you?"

Naruto merely nodded sedately before his attention _finally_ returned to his now long hair as it blocked his view of his older brother figure. Asuma chuckled and moved to the window, he opened the curtain to reveal the bright morning sun. It illuminated the room enough for Naruto to glance around, and he spotted a mirror in the corner.

Kakashi left to inform the others that Naruto had awoken, and Asuma retrieved the mirror for him. Taking in his new, slightly girly features was unnerving to the ex-blonde, but his hair was even more unnerving – he was almost a dead ringer for a younger Madara Uchiha.

"I think I need a haircut," Naruto immediately stated. "I don't think looking like Madara Uchiha is a good idea."

"I don't know Naruto … it makes you look dangerous," Asuma chuckled. Naruto's flat glare made the man chuckle harder. "All right then, I'll get Ino."

Naruto made a face before he finally nodded his consent. "Before you go Asuma-nii … why are you here?"

"Huh? Oh that's easy, I'm the back-up that Kakashi requested," Asuma responded. "I'll get Ino."

"Arigatou Asuma-nii," Naruto spoke.

 **..::..**

When Ino came up with Asuma, she wasn't expecting Naruto to be towelling his hair. He looked as though he'd just bathed and his new body made her blush. Nevertheless, she was a professional in the ways of fashion! Or at least that's what she claimed, so when he asked her help for a haircut – she squealed in joy … just what did he get in to?

Despite Naruto's objections, she left the bangs and fringe – simply because of the red streak of hair that sat there. She did cut off a healthy chunk of hair from the back though, its length now only reaching just below his shoulders, instead of his butt. Naruto stopped her from going too far and simply stated that he'd just tie the rest back in a ponytail with ninja wire. Tying it in a high ponytail, much like Ino's own, placated her so she dropped the subject and left – pleased with her work. **[AN2]**

Sadly, nothing could be done in regards to his clothing, so Naruto decided to discard the orange jacket and opt to wear the black t-shirt and the orange pants. He liked orange, but his recovered mind recognised when he had too much.

Sighing as he walked down the stairs, he came to an unusual sight as he spotted his teammates along with Team 10. Sakura and Ino looked well and truly cowed and the _only_ spot at the table was next to Sasuke. Instead of glaring, Sasuke actually smiled and gestured to the empty spot.

"You should eat cousin," Sasuke commented. "You've been out for four days now, while the changes finished."

Old Naruto would've retorted, but this Naruto merely raised an eyebrow but nodded. He sat next to Sasuke and watched curiously as the boy placed a selection of food in front of him.

"So … cousin?" he asked Sasuke.

"Well, you aren't direct family and it's easier than addressing you as whatever relation we actually are," Sasuke commented.

The exchange was watched intensely by the other people in the room.

"I see," Naruto sighed. "I appreciate the sentiment Sasuke, but the last time we spoke, you hated me. Please let me process everything before trying to act too familiarly with me … okay?"

Sasuke frowned but nodded. "I understand Naruto; I'll wait for your word."

Naruto smiled softly, not realising that the women in the room all blushed and ate the provided meal. Naruto's mind was still running back to that girl though – who was she and why did she want him to 'come for her'?

Deciding that the best place to look for answers was back at the bridge, he excused himself and got permission to return to the bridge.

 **..::..**

After escorting Team 10 and Tazuna to the bridge, he surprised them by bowing in thanks. He knew that Shikamaru and Chouji would want answers soon, but then a thought stopped him. His so called friends weren't actually his friends, more like acquaintances that were rarely civil. They never invited him to visit or play and the only time they actually spent together was while his former retard-minded-self liked to play pranks. No, he owed them no explanation – they would remain civil until they prove they really were his friends.

A giggle brought him from his thoughts and he glanced at the centre of the bridge. There, balancing on the very edge was the girl that he couldn't stop thinking about. She gestured him to follow her, and she gracefully jumped off the bridge. Startled by the act, Naruto rushed forward and looked over the edge. He sighed as he saw her gently float to the water and point towards a cave nearby – odd, there was no cave there seconds ago.

Naruto debated internally for a few seconds but he then shrugged and he too, jumped off the edge of the bridge, his memories told him that he could do something called 'Water Walking' so he didn't bother with weighing up the pros and cons of simply jumping.

Ino spotted the action and gasped loudly, Asuma narrowing his gaze at the spot Naruto had been in, he was there to help the boy learn Water Walking so he didn't bother worrying about that little problem. He had been worried though, since he saw what Naruto was doing before he jumped.

'It was only a matter of time before a soul reached out to him,' Asuma pondered silently. 'Though there was no mention of one existing this close to the mainland … except for that silly legend of Depore …'

Asuma's eyes widened dramatically, "Shit!"

Creating a **Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone),** he sent it to find where Kakashi was training his other brats whilst he ran to the edge to look for the former blond but he was gone.

If there was any truth to the Legend then a great power was about to be unleashed upon the world once more. The last known piece of knowledge regarding Depore was of La Noche or the Undead King. He wasn't really undead of course, he was however the greatest Uzumaki Warrior to ever exist. The bodies that fell to La Noche and his legendary sword Depore numbered in the high thousands, even more if he felt the need to be honest. The man was a demon but when the Uzumaki Clan was first founded, long before either of the Uchiha or Senju Clans was formed, he vanished.

There were murmurs of sightings here and there, but the legend soon became a bedtime story to frighten the superstitious. But like all things in the Shinobi world … legends had a way of coming back to bite you in the arse.

 **..::..**

Naruto shivered as he entered the cave. The water was freezing this time of year, how he knew that he didn't know, but he did. He blinked and suddenly came face to face with that beautiful girl once more. She was smiling brightly and almost danced around him in joy, she suddenly defied all logic and grasped his hand firmly. She then pulled him along while skipping into the cave, and for some reason Naruto couldn't be bothered to let go.

The endless path winded on further and further away from the entrance, but Naruto only had his eyes on the happy girl bouncing around him. They journeyed for what Naruto estimated to be several hours before he came upon a tomb. There was no grave stone or crypt though; it was merely a carving that identified the person or persons that spent their last days there.

"La Noche," Naruto whispered, testing the name. A sudden thrumming of energy passed through him and he shivered. "This place is wrong, like it shouldn't exist."

"But we exist here," came the delicate but playful voice of his companion. "You're chakra and energy woke me master, I've long waited for your return."

Naruto was confused at first, but old memories, almost like a distant dream called to him – begging him to remember. He shook his head and looked once more to the girl.

"Depore?" he questioned softly.

She nodded sadly before replying, "You don't completely remember me, do you?"

Naruto shook his head softly, "I'm sorry."

She whimpered and then faded, leaving Naruto feeling horribly guilty. He thought of a way to get back and was surprised when he blinked to find himself back outside the cave. The sounds of battle drew his attention and he cussed before finding a path that he could use to get back to the bridge.

He never saw the sad but determined eyes that followed him.

 **..::..**

It turned out that sending a **Shadow Clone** to fetch Kakashi was a good move, as shortly after it dispelled, the bridge was under attack by the reason for their requested back-up: Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

A hunter-nin stood proudly at his side and Asuma sighed, "Typical Kakashi, understate the situation. That hunter-nin is clearly Jounin level."

"Well, well … Asuma Sarutobi," Zabuza mocked. "I was expecting Kakashi Hatake. I guess he chickened out."

"Maa Maa Zabuza," the bored voice of Kakashi rang through the silence. "You'll hurt my feelings if you talk like that."

The hunter-nin saw Sasuke and gestured with its head. Zabuza nodded and smiled viciously "Tear the brat apart Haku … maybe I might get some pretty red eyes of my own."

 **[I'M SKIPPING MOST OF THE FIGHT TO FIT, SORRY PEEPS]**

 **..::..**

Naruto arrived to see a large Dome made of Ice surrounding Shikamaru, Chouji and Sasuke, whilst Asuma and Kakashi fought Zabuza and Sakura and Ino protected Tazuna. A quick glance with his Sharingan told him that the trio in the Ice Dome needed his help more, so he rushed forward.

Shooting past Sakura and Ino, he sped through hand signs that he somehow remembered and sucked in a breath.

 **"** **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique),"** Naruto spoke and unleashed his technique upon the Dome. It drew the attention of the Hunter-nin and he instantly created two **Shadow Clones.** One of the clones got the silent order and it, along with the original Naruto, both utilized the **Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique)** and switched with Shikamaru and Chouji. The two looked rather frazzled by the action, but when they realised what had happened it was too late.

"Damn it Naruto," Shikamaru yelled.

"What's wrong Shika?" Ino asked, confusion written on her face.

"That idiot Naruto just **Kawarimi'd** with us," he growled, gesturing to Chouji and himself.

"What, why would he do that?" she asked. "I don't get it."

"I don't either, but this Naruto isn't the same dead-last idiot that we used to know," Shikamaru huffed out in frustration.

"You know, if you call my creator dead-last then it proves that you know nothing," Naruto's clone suddenly interrupted, causing the girls to jump in fright.

"Shikamaru Nara, IQ of over 200 and the most suitable strategist amongst the current graduates of those currently assembled. Works best in conjunction with Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi using collaboration techniques unique to your individual Clans," Naruto's clone continued, shocking the others. "Sakura Haruno, excels in knowledge and chakra control, perfectly mouldable into either a Genjutsu Specialist or a Medic-nin … and a perfect addition to any strategist's pieces. Need I say more Shikamaru-san?"

The other Gennin looked in complete shock at the clone of the supposed 'dead-last' of their year. How did he know so much about them?

"You're shocked, surely you didn't believe that I haven't been paying attention?" the Clone continued. "The Seals hindering me are now gone and I am who I am supposed to be, so suck it up and help my creator and your comrades."

"Naruto, you're our friend," Chouji remarked. "You don't need to be rude and tell us to 'suck it up'."

The Clone suddenly looked terrifying to the other Gennin and one bridge builder.

"Are we _really_ friends Chouji-san?" the Clone asked in a hostile but somehow bored tone. "What exactly gave you the impression of such? We have spent no time getting to know each other, or rather; _you_ haven't bothered to spend the time in getting to know me."

"H-How can you say that Naruto?" gasped Chouji, whilst a silent Shikamaru put the dots together.

"Has my creator _ever_ forgotten anyone's birthday, favourite food, colour or even hobbies?" the Clone continued, and at their realisation that Naruto had _always_ remembered they shook their heads. "So that fact established, ask yourselves … what about reversing those questions, what do you _exactly_ know about my creator – me?"

The truth hit them like a **Doton Jutsu (Earth Release Technique)** to the stomachs – they'd never asked him! They knew _nothing_ about their supposed friend. Their mouths were suddenly very dry, and they were at a loss on how to respond to the clone.

"I thought as much," the Clone simply responded before dispelling.

 **..::..**

"Damn, I have a chatty clone," Naruto muttered mutinously. "Sasuke, I'll draw her attention and you track her movements – try to find her real body."

Sasuke nodded in agreement and Naruto suddenly flooded the dome with clones. They each moved to a mirror, only to be dispelled before they took a step.

"Shit, it's not working," Naruto cursed. "Any suggestions dear _cousin_? Oh, and congratulations on awakening your Sharingan."

Sasuke blinked at the barb, but a smirk worked its way onto his face – he'd finally unlocked the Sharingan.

"Now that you mention it," Sasuke pondered out loud before he switched to whispering to Naruto. "I noticed that you used a **Katon Jutsu (Fire Release Technique)** earlier, if you could use another to your left, I'll use one to our right. The steam should create a blanket that we can use to escape."

"Your plan sounds good," Naruto nodded. "Let's go with that – on three?"

They both smirked and on the count of three they both cried out, **"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)."**

They both unleashed their techniques at the same time; Sasuke's larger than Naruto's from repetitive practise. Naruto instantly moved and managed to get a clone outside the dome to switch with him but faltered when he heard Sasuke gasp in pain. Turning he spotted Sasuke on the ground, several Senbon made of Ice sticking out of his leg. He could see the Senbon aimed at his clone and the second Senbon aimed for Sasuke's heart, and he knew it was now or never, he exhaled sharply and leapt forward. He took the Senbon aimed at Sasuke to his right shoulder and gave his clone the silent order to switch with Sasuke instead. The clone obeyed its creator's order and did so just in time – leaving Naruto in the Ice Dome without back-up.

"That was very brave and selfless of you Ninja-san," the Hunter-nin spoke. "Is he precious to you?"

"He is family, whether or not he is precious to me is yet to be explored," Naruto replied as he pulled the Senbon out of his shoulder. "But if you think that I'll allow you to harm my teammate and comrade when I have the ability to protect him, then you are gravely mistaken Hunter-nin!"

Haku frowned behind her mask – it was a pity that she had to kill this boy. She suddenly unleashed her technique and silently begged for forgiveness for the life she was about to take.

A sudden pulse rippled through the Mist, its source was Naruto, or rather, from behind Naruto and her Senbon harmlessly dropped to the ground.

Haku gasped as she saw the silhouette of a pretty young girl standing protectively in front of the Uchiha boy before her.

 **..::..**

Depore watched as the Ninja that was so much like her first master took an otherwise killing blow to his shoulder to protect his kin, it sparked memories of fighting with her beloved master, side by side with his own kin. Then she heard his declaration and something in her resonated with the boy … he _was_ her master, only her master could resonate with her like that! But she needed him to say the words of ownership, and she could only do so much without his memories being completely returned to him. Depore was conflicted – what should she do?

The Hunter-nin unleashed a frightening amount of Senbon at her beloved master's reincarnation and she made her choice. She screamed in fury – how dare this Hunter-nin try to kill her master, master was hers and only hers until she approved of another! She jumped in the way and sent a pulse of power outwards, watching with glee as the Senbon harmlessly bounced to the ground.

Standing protectively in from of her master she scowled at the Hunter-nin.

"Mine," she growled. "Master. Is. Mine!"

Another pulse of power followed and Depore suddenly had a strange kind of armour on and a helmet on her head.

The hunter-nin attempted to strike again and Depore twitched in anger – this hunter-nin just didn't know when to quit. She repulsed the Senbon again and hissed, the hunter-nin moved to flee to another mirror and Depore moved to follow but she was stopped by Naruto who had grasped her hand.

 **..::..**

Naruto watched as Depore stopped another attack from reaching him and his mind thumped as memories of time spent with her flashed into his mind and he understood. He was La Noche – or at least the Nidaime La Noche, he was La Noche's reincarnation.

He suddenly grasped her hand firmly, yet gently and prevented her from following the hunter-nin.

"I am not the same master that you remember Depore," Naruto whispered. "Why help me?"

"Why, I like you," she responded simply. "You're very essence is my master, but enticingly different as well. So, I've decided – I won't give my power to anyone else."

"You," She smirked seductively at him and placed her hand on his cheek, getting into his personal space – Naruto found himself blushing like mad.

"You want me?" she purred before she leaned in and kissed Naruto on the lips. "I want you too."

The intimate action caused a tremendous amount of power to surge outwards from where Naruto and Depore were joined and it effortlessly blew away the Mist on the bridge. It revealed a bloody and beaten Zabuza and the rest of the Gennin gaped and blushed at the intimacy being shown in front of them. Asuma and Kakashi glanced nervously at each other … for a sword's soul to be visible to others only proved Asuma's assumption: Depore lived once more. Their musings were cut short by Naruto's simple but historical words.

"Yes, I want you Depore." He muttered in response, as if speaking any louder would ruin the moment. He gently grasped her shoulders and deepened their kiss, it was now a passionate embrace and as they were locked in place, more power rolled off of the two in staggering quantities. Light surrounded the two and the beauty that was kissing Naruto soon faded and in her place was the most beautiful sword they'd ever seen. **[AN3]**

Zabuza felt a shiver go down his spine as he gazed upon it and whispered a single name, "Depore."

Anything else they were about to say was interrupted by the tapping of a cane and the arrival of Gato and a literal army of mercenaries, most if not all were bandits – cannon fodder really.

Naruto merely glanced in their direction. He muted most of Gato's long-winded speech, but glared as he offered the Kunoichi up for the one to bring them Zabuza's and the hunter-nin – Haku's heads. The army charged and Asuma and Kakashi faltered, they were really out of shape if they were already tired. Haku as well looked dead on her feet, and Shikamaru froze in his attempt to formulate a plan. Sasuke was still out cold, and the others were frozen in fear.

Naruto frowned and took a single step towards the charging army. Effortlessly wielding Depore, he slashed the air in front of him and watched as a blade of energy left Depore's beautiful blade. It sliced into the bandits with ease – legs, arms and even heads hit the ground with dead thuds. Blood rained down upon the bridge and all the while, Naruto smiled.

He suddenly jumped forward into the battle, easily carving his way through the bandits that stood in between him and Gato – the midget was going to die: no one threatened his comrades. He ducked under a bandit's panicked slash and watched with childlike interest as Depore cleaved his head in two. Without pausing he spun on his heels and watched amusedly as the bandits limbs began being rendered from their bodies. His Sharingan glowed ominously as he continued his mad charge into the bandits – their numbers seemed to continue, no matter how many he carved up into pieces. The picture that it painted however was forever seared into the hearts and minds of those that watched.

They watched as a child with hauntingly scary red eyes, butchered hundreds of bandits on his own with nothing but a rumoured legendary blade.

"Going somewhere Gato?" Naruto questioned, his soft voice belaying the absolute carnage that he'd just unleashed.

"Whatever you want," the midget begged. "I'll give you anything you want – just don't kill me … please."

The man whimpered and pissed his pants as Naruto's glowing Sharingan eyes bore into his. "You already have given me everything Gato … your pathetic life … ended."

With that said, he flicked his wrist and Gato's head was removed from his piss-stained body. What Gato didn't know was that one of the skills that he'd inherited from his past-self was the ability to learn from those that he had slayed with Depore. It couldn't be used for training, but for say, learning the location and combinations to all of Gato's safes, bank accounts and business licenses – child's play.

A flash later and Depore now stood closely to Naruto, back in her human form, only this time she was completely whole. Her skin was even warm to the touch – Naruto blushed at the rogue thought and Depore giggled as she hugged her new/old master's arm possessively to her chest.

"N-Naruto," Kakashi gently spoke. "Are you okay?"

Naruto blinked and looked to Kakashi and then the area surrounding him registered in his mind. Had he done all of this? Naruto immediately ran over to the edge of the bridge and puked his guts out – Depore rubbing his back in a soothing manner.

"I guess that answers your question Kakashi," Asuma laughed awkwardly. "I think that was memory recall – like his body moving on auto-pilot."

"I agree with your conclusion," Zabuza's tired voice cut in. "I guess we're no longer enemies Kakashi, Asuma."

"It appears so," Asuma chuckled.

The sensei's gazes flickered to their still frozen students, and their hearts went out to them – they'd seen _everything._

A rain suddenly bore down upon them and with it; it washed away the blood on the bridge … a pity that the Gennin of Teams 7 and 10 would always remember a bridge soaked in blood.

"Let's get them back to your place Tazuna-san." Kakashi prompted softly.

The bridge builder nodded quickly and led the way, a weary Haku following along whilst she helped Zabuza on their way. Haku's eyes never left the back of one Naruto Uzumaki however – and Depore didn't like the look on Haku's blushing face.

 **..::..**

 **And done! My newest concept story – though I must still point out that this is a side project story. Let me know what you all think. ^_^**

 **AN1 – Easier to go to Google Images and search for Immortal Regis – Depore Human Form.**

 **AN2 – Think of Kenshin's Hairstyle – only shorter at the back and longer fringe/bangs.**

 **AN3 – Follow AN1 and go to Google Images. Search Immortal Regis – Depore Sword.**

 **..::..**

 **PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	2. Chapter 2 - Konoha's God of Fire

**..::..**

 **Hello peeps, welcome to another Fan Fiction in Piro-san's Fan Fiction Corner. This idea has plagued me for some time, I'm pretty sure that the idea has been explored before but I hope my twist is decent enough to be written for your delectation and delight. For once there are no other elements from other stories, just Naruto and a gift.**

 **Without further ado, please enjoy.**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

 **..::..**

 **KONOHA'S GOD OF FIRE – CHAPTER ONE.**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Biiju/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Biiju/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Naruto frowned as he gazed upon his hands and their newest features. Ever since fighting Orochimaru in the second stage of the Chunin Exams, and being hit by the strange technique that he used to cut off the Kyuubi's healing factor – he'd had these strange circle marks on his palms. They were a perfect circle and they were black, like he'd gotten a tattoo.

He shook his hurting head, softly rubbing his scalp in an attempt to alleviate the thumping that his brain felt. He snapped his eyes open to look once more at his hands. A strange thought struck his mind – what if whatever Orochimaru did to him had cut off the Kyuubi? Was this supposed to be his power all along and Kyuubi's presence had blocked that power? Naruto subtly glanced to the left and right, only the Hokage was watching him intently – probably since he'd been completely silent and still since his speech regarding the preliminaries.

Naruto then did something that would change _everything_ forever – he gained a determined look and called, "ANBU, I need assistance please."

Oddly enough, an ANBU _actually_ dropped down to him from out of nowhere and tilted their head in a manner that practically said, "Yes, what do you need?"

"Please tell the Old …" Naruto paused in his sentence. His mind seemed so clear and free, even his chakra flowed smoothly, like he was no longer fighting for its control. All these things had a strange impact on Naruto, and he no longer felt the need to attract unnecessary attention. "Please tell Hokage-sama that I need to see him at once, it's in regards to an incident in the Forest of Death Stage of the Chunin Exams."

The ANBU actually paused at Naruto's request – never had he used such a respectful term for the Hokage. The ANBU nodded and vanished, Naruto watched as said ANBU rematerialized next to the Hokage and they spoke in quiet tones. The Hokage's eyes narrowed and his sharp gaze snapped to Naruto. He nodded softly and he stood slowly, the Sandaime excused himself to the other judges and moved to the hallways behind them. Naruto was shocked when he could actually sense the ANBU before he or she reappeared.

"Hokage-sama will see you, please follow me Uzumaki-san," the ANBU intoned blankly.

Naruto nodded his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as he followed the ANBU. Wait a moment, his mind – it was so … focussed. He found that everything he'd ever learned, be that from old scrolls, speaking to the Sandaime, or even from Iruka's lectures. He had access to _everything,_ and it caused a true smile to appear on his face.

What Naruto didn't know was that while the revelation of his open mind crossed his mind, he and the ANBU had arrived at the room and the Hokage was eyeing the boy like a hawk. Naruto snapped back to reality and he focused on the Hokage, who gasped as Naruto looked eerily like Minato with what the Yondaime, or Fourth Hokage often called his 'business face.'

Naruto's gaze had narrowed and he looked _exactly_ like a smaller version of his father – it was a look that even the Hokage felt scared of, as the last time the Sandaime had been on the receiving end of _that_ look, he was listening to Minato as he laid out a battle plan against Iwa. What followed was the great Massacre of Iwa, in which Minato Namikaze single handily decimated over 800 Shinobi and Kunoichi … it was what gave Minato his infamous moniker 'The Yellow Flash'.

And Naruto was now giving him _that_ look … it didn't bode well. Naruto nodded, more to himself than to the Hokage and he surprised the old leader when he turned and bowed in thanks to the ANBU – just what was going on? When the ANBU had informed him that Naruto requested to speak to him, and that he had used the formal term for him, he knew it was important.

"Hokage-sama, thank you for seeing me," Naruto spoke, completely serious in his tone and Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage felt that it didn't match the normally cheery blonde. "I request your aid; I need you to check my seal."

Like a switch had been flipped, Hiruzen was in Hokage mode as he all but charged forward. Naruto couldn't even register the speed displayed by the Hokage as he suddenly found himself subdued by the ANBU. The Hokage all but yanked up his t-shirt off and slammed his palm onto his stomach. The odd sensation of a foreign chakra rippled through him, and he was startled as nothing appeared on his stomach – there was no longer a seal there … he was free of the Kyuubi!

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his eyes widen impossibly large, the seal was gone. What could have caused this potential disaster? He weaved through hand signs and activated a special Diagnostic Jutsu to scan the boy's chakra network. He staggered back as he got the results – Naruto's chakra was like liquid fire, just like Kyuubi's had been during the attack twelve years prior. So Kyuubi's chakra now belonged to Naruto, but Kyuubi was gone?

"Explain," Hiruzen demanded.

Naruto blinked in confusion but he nodded and explained the series of events in both the Forest of Death and up to his current situation, he explained how his mind was able to recall any memory and how his chakra felt smooth and free. The Hokage frowned in thought, this was something that was thought impossible – the Kyuubi was either dead, or waiting to reform. It couldn't reform inside Naruto anymore, as both his and Naruto's chakra had merged into a completely new kind of chakra.

The Sandaime turned to the ANBU.

"Bring me Jiraiya _at once,_ " he ordered, there was a sense of urgency in his tone, but there was also a power behind his words that hadn't been there for a very long time – the Sandaime's Will of Fire had been rekindled. The ANBU bowed and swiftly left the room.

It was the sight of Naruto examining his hands that the Sandaime turned to see. The circles unnerved the Hokage, not because of any sense of unease surrounding them, but because there was that niggling feeling that he'd seen them somewhere before. Frowning once more, he closed his eyes in thought. Hiruzen went over every single memory that could possibly relate to the strange markings and it was with a gasp and a step back that he found the memory.

'Circular Markings, Chakra like fire and his body has unlocked its potential – if his sharper, eidetic-like mind and gaze are any indication,' Hiruzen thought. 'Definitely the Namikaze Clan's Bloodline.'

Minato's father – he was an unknown person to the blonde Hokage, but Hiruzen had held the secret in silence for far too long. He lied to Minato about not knowing who his father was, but since Naruto had unknowingly awakened the thought to be lost Kekkei Genkai of the Namikaze, he owed it to Naruto to tell him.

"God's Fire," he whispered.

Naruto caught it however and he snapped his gaze to the Sandaime. "What was that Hokage-sama, what's 'God's Fire'?"

Hiruzen sighed but he cleared his throat and explained – each word seemed to release a previously unknown weight off of his shoulders.

"God's Fire is a Kekkei Genkai that was thought lost for the rest of time. It belonged to the Namikaze Clan – they once hailed from the Land of Lightning, but from fear of their power, the people of the Land forced them out. They sought refuge with the Uzumaki Clan, and they formed a partnership." Hiruzen explained calmly, Naruto's newly developed mind recalled that the Yondaime, his hero, was a Namikaze and it hit him. The same hair, the same eyes – just a different bone structure.

"The Yondaime was my Father, wasn't he?" Naruto asked flatly.

Hiruzen was shocked, but if he _had_ awakened the Namikaze Clan's Kekkei Genkai, then it made sense that Naruto grasped everything so quickly. So instead of answering he just nodded solemnly, a sigh escaping his lips – why did he suddenly feel so old?

"Yes, Minato Namikaze was your father Naruto-kun," Hiruzen answered verbally. "You weren't told for security reasons. He had many enemies, and your mother was also a high risk target."

Naruto glared at the Hokage.

"So my father and mother's identity _was_ kept from me," he hissed in anger, the very temperature in the room skyrocketing. "You. Owe. Me. Hokage-sama, now who was my mother? I assume that she was an Uzumaki at least?"

Hiruzen felt every one of his years at the moment, the look of utter fury was painted on Naruto's face and he felt shame bubble up in the pit of his stomach. "Yes, her name _is_ Kushina Uzumaki. She believes you to be dead."

Naruto's world froze. His mother was alive? She was alive and she thought he was dead … why would she … the question died in his mind as he saw the look of shame on the Sandaime's face.

"What did you do _Hokage-sama_?" he hissed menacingly.

Hiruzen hung his head; if he told him then he'd lose the boy forever – not because he was a weapon of Konoha, but because the boy was like a grandson to him. He needed to clear the air though, so he steeled his heart and resolve and continued … consequences be damned.

"Kushina looked for you after the attack," he began, before taking a deep breath and continuing. "She survived due to the infamous Uzumaki Resilience … a quirk in their genetic structures, granting them exceptionally large Chakra Reserves and a Healing Factor second to none. In my weakness I listened to an old friend of mine and I hid you from her – she left Konoha soon after with my third student: Tsunade Senju. Whether it was heartbreak or not, she never asked twice, she merely took my word for it and left."

The temperature increased tenfold and Hiruzen gasped as pure black fire erupted from one of the circles on Naruto's palm. The black fire danced around Naruto in a truly mesmerizing display, and Naruto found his attention drift to said fire. The Flames felt … welcoming, like he was getting a nice, warm hug – he liked the feeling. They didn't burn him or his clothes but the floor around him wasn't so lucky. An ANBU appeared in a defensive stance in front of the Hokage and unleashed a Water Jutsu to douse the boy and his fire.

It didn't work.

Like a self defence mechanism, the flames surged and _swallowed_ the water. A blanket of steam covered the room and when it cleared, the ANBU was surrounded by the black flames as if daring the ANBU to try something else.

"Go on ANBU-san … give me a reason," Naruto growled.

"That's quite enough Naruto," Hiruzen ordered firmly.

Naruto glared at the Hokage but he nodded, he then concentrated and the flames returned to his hand, before vanishing completely.

"I _request_ that you don't attack me again ANBU-san," Naruto intoned in an impressively calm tone of voice that was eerily reminiscent of an Itachi Uchiha. A shiver went down both the Hokage's and the ANBU's spines.

"Hokage-sama, as my right as a Konoha Shinobi and a citizen, I ask you to inform my mother of the truth," Naruto stated. "If you do not, then I'll relinquish my citizenship and Shinobi status and leave. Don't push me; I'm perfectly prepared for the consequences. Let's not forget that I'm no longer a Jinchūriki, therefore I am no longer considered the property of Konoha."

The Sandaime flinched, the tone aside; Naruto's use of the term 'property of Konoha' was exactly what the Village Elders would use to describe him – and it was true, Naruto was no longer a Jinchūriki, therefore he could leave as a citizen and he and the Councils wouldn't be able stop him.

"I'll have an ANBU search for them Naruto," Hiruzen relented. "It may take some time though as Tsunade has managed to keep herself under the radar since her departure."

Naruto stared the Hokage down before nodding, "That is acceptable."

A tense and awkward silence took over for a moment before the Sandaime sucked in a breath and took the plunge as he revealed yet more bad news.

"T-There's something else Naruto," he spoke hesitantly. "You also have living Godparents. One was unable to raise you and the other was unsuitable."

Naruto frowned, but his temper had left him, in its place was a sad kind of acceptance – he was simply bound to misfortune it seemed.

"Who are they?" he asked quietly. "I have the right to know."

"Tsunade Senju is your Godmother, and as you already know, she left twelve years ago with your mother," Hiruzen revealed. "Your Godfather has been maintaining the Village's Spy Network. He's been leaving false trails and feeding incorrect Intel for twelve years. He essentially made sure that the world didn't learn of your existence, as your father's son and as the Jinchūriki … ex-Jinchūriki."

"I see," Naruto commented quietly. He could understand the need to stay away if that was the reason for his Godfather's absence, but that still didn't change the simple truth of not having _any_ contact at all with him. "Has he bothered to enquire as to my health or visit?"

Hiruzen was prevented from answering as Jiraiya himself answered for him.

"No, and while I'm sorry that I neglected to make contact with you – it was necessary for you to remain inconspicuous," Jiraiya informed seriously. "I was granted permission to make contact with you on the day of your twelfth birthday, but I was delayed as I was investigating rumours about Orochimaru."

Instead of the tantrum that the men were expecting, Naruto just took a deep breath and turned to Hiruzen.

"By your leave Hokage-sama?" he asked. "The preliminaries are starting, and I'd like to be present so that I may participate. Time will tell if you'll hold on to your promise to send an ANBU after my mother, until then I should act as nothing has changed. Good day."

Naruto waited for Hiruzen to nod, and then he left. He turned and walked down the hallway, easily navigating his way back to the main arena. If he looked back, he would have seen the pained expression on Jiraiya's face.

He came upon a fight between Sakura and Ino. Sakura, his teammate … huh, there was no feeling of attachment to her anymore, his feelings were clearer and he knew that his crush was simply that: a crush and crushes were easily disposed of.

The fight between his teammate and Ino Yamanaka was pathetic. How he'd thought that Sakura was an amazing Kunoichi was beyond him – but then again, his old-self practically bordered on being retarded. The fight ended with a double knockout – pathetic. He caught Kurenai Yuhi: the sensei of Team 8 watching him carefully – he would have questioned why, but the next second he heard the proctor call his name.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka please report to the arena," the proctor – whose name was Hayate if his memory served him correctly, called.

"Hah, hear that Akamaru? We got the dead-last," Kiba crooned victoriously. Akamaru – Kiba's Ninken or Ninja Hound barked in agreement, but then a look at Naruto made the dog _very_ nervous. That wasn't the same Naruto from the academy, this Naruto smelled like an Alpha. Kurenai watched the Uzumaki boy carefully; something about the boy had changed. His eyes were intense and focussed, and the flow of his chakra seemed calmer. She thought about warning her student but she decided that a good fight would wake the Inuzuka up to the real world that he shouldn't judge on appearances.

Naruto's analytical gaze narrowed on Kiba as he bounced towards the arena. His control had improved, as had his footwork – but that was all and he shouldn't worry. His mind now recognised his tells and the differences in his stances. Naruto ignored the presence of his returning sensei: Hatake Kakashi and instead of using the stairs, he merely jumped onto the protective railings and just casually dropped into the arena.

Kiba was confused – Naruto wasn't acting anything like he remembered, and it unnerved the boy, but as usual his cockiness took over and he grinned confidently at Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto had shed what was left of his orange jacket and stretched lightly.

"I won't even need Akamaru to beat you _dead-last,_ " he called nastily – Naruto ignored him in favour of double checking his equipment. An action that all the judges and foreign representatives approved of.

"Are both competitors ready?" Hayate questioned with a cough.

Kiba shouted and psyched himself up and Naruto quietly nodded.

"Then … begin!" he shouted and leapt off of the field.

 **..::..**

The first thing that Kakashi noticed upon his reappearance to the arena was that it was Naruto's turn to fight. The second thing however was what worried him, he'd noticed the strange circles on his palms and the gleam in Naruto's eyes reminded him of his father and his sensei – it was the look of someone with an incredible intelligence … one that was capable of using that intelligence to kill. Naruto had changed, so he quickly pulled up his Hitai-ate and analysed his student with his Sharingan. He gasped – Kyuubi was gone! How was this possible?

He watched as his usually hyper student calmly analysed his opponent, he also saw that Akamaru was hesitant to fight him … Ninken had the ability to sense when they were going up against a superior opponent … how much had he changed to get that kind of a reaction from the dog?

He heard Kiba try to antagonise Naruto by referring to him as 'dead-last' but if Naruto responded to the barb – he didn't show it. Instead, he just watched Kiba's every move. A shiver went down Kakashi's spine … for some reason he had just compared Naruto to Itachi in his mind. It was eerie, but it was an accurate description … Naruto was doing a scarily good impression if the homicidal Uchiha.

A glance to his left told him that Sasuke was thinking the very same thought.

"Then … begin!" shouted Hayate.

 **..::..**

Sasuke Uchiha wasn't concerned with the fact that he'd missed Sakura's match – if anything he was glad that he'd missed it, but Naruto's match was worth watching. The blonde had become strong since joining Team 7 and if he was honest with himself, he was intimidated by Naruto's growth.

So when he watched a calm, collected and silently confident Naruto drop into the arena – he knew something was off with his teammate. The way that he analysed Kiba with calm indifference struck too close to home as the image of his older brother flashed over the top of Naruto's figure.

Naruto was acting exactly as Itachi used to act in battle, even when he slaughtered his own Clan. A terrifying thought crossed his mind – what if whatever happened in the Forest of Death had scrambled Naruto's brains enough for him to become a psychopath? It was the easiest theory to believe because the only other theory that crossed his mind was what if this was the real Naruto? Had the supposed 'dead-last' been playing his teammates for fools this entire time?

"Then … begin!" he heard the proctor shout.

 **..::..**

Naruto stared at Kiba with a detached boredom; he listened as Kiba declared once more that he'd defeat him without trying and that it'd be easier for him to surrender. He grinned slightly at the thought … surrender was not an option.

"Fang Over Fang," shouted Kiba as he became a spinning mass of energy – an energy that was coming his way. "It's over Dobe!"

Naruto glanced at the ball of energy coming for him. 'Typical Kiba, typical and utterly predictable.'

"Three, Two, One," Naruto spoke calmly. At hitting one, he casually bent his knees and spun clockwise to match the Inuzuka's own spin. Doing so caused him to match Kiba's attack speed and he used that spin to move gracefully out of the way. He followed up with a chakra enhanced strike to Kiba's unguarded side. He watched uncaringly as Kiba coughed blood and hit the ground. The strike wasn't supposed to incapacitate the Inuzuka – it was to wind the boy.

Naruto watched as Kiba snarled viciously and threw a handful of Kunai at him. Instead of moving to dodge, Naruto smiled a smile that, once again, had those that had met Itachi cringe. As the Kunai were in range, Naruto raised a hand and the spectators had a front row seat in watching the appearance of Black Fire emerge from Naruto's hand. It ate the Kunai and then returned to him, coiling around him like a protective serpent – ready to strike at a moment's notice.

All the while, Naruto smiled that smile.

 **..::..**

The spectators were in shock. The Dobe, the dead-last, the idiot – he had easily countered Kiba's technique and did so by simply counting down from three! They watched as Naruto used the spin of the dodge and perfectly time a strike to Kiba's now unprotected side. Only the observant of them spotted the fact that it was a chakra enhanced strike – something that was commonly learnt after becoming Chunin.

Then Kiba threw Kunai at Naruto. Hinata let out a startled cry as her crush didn't budge, and then something happened that had several Jounin narrow their gazes. They'd all heard of the infamous God's Fire of the Namikaze Clan, but they dismissed them as legend, something to frighten children with – but here was the Jinchūriki using the sacred Kekkei Genkai of the Namikaze.

Like scales had fallen from their eyes, they all started realising the similarities between Naruto and a certain blonde haired Hokage. Then they recalled Kushina and how close that she and the Yondaime had been, and that soon afterwards, Kushina was pregnant. The Jinchūriki's last name was Uzumaki. Coincidence? Now that they thought about it – not really. So the most hated individual in Konoha was really the Yondaime's legacy – how could they have been so blind to what was right in front of them?

A few of the chattier Jounin started whispering about their suspicions and soon, word reached the shocked Sandaime Hokage. He would have to run interference … wait – why should he? It was clear that no matter what kind of interference he tried, word would still get out. No, instead he'd simply confirm it and be rid of the lies once and for all. _He_ was the Hokage and _his_ word _was_ law!

Shikamaru Nara narrowed his eyes in thought. Naruto was acting differently – well if he was being honest, it was more like he was acting _freely._ Like a great burden had been lifted and he was finally using his brain … it was scary. If _this_ was the real Naruto, then he prayed he never fought the blonde – he was already too unpredictable to get a reading on.

Kakashi coughed out a gasp as he watched his blonde student pick Kiba's attacks a part. It was almost as if the blonde had the Sharingan. The effortless dodging was something that shouldn't be possible without one – but here was Naruto doing exactly that. Then he saw the God's Fire … he had his suspicions that Naruto was a Namikaze, but when Kushina-nee had told him that her child had died, he just put Naruto's similarities aside as coincidence.

Sasuke Uchiha gulped as he watched Naruto fight. He wasted no movements and his attacks were timed so well, he would have suspected the Sharingan – but he knew that was impossible. Then he used some weird Fire Jutsu that protected him and coiled around him like it was alive. At first a thought crossed his mind, telling him that the power should be his, but if his time on Team 7 had taught him anything, it was that power had to be earned and not just taken. Was he jealous of the power? Absolutely, but it was something that he instinctively knew he could never wield in battle.

It reminded him of something his mother used to read to him though; it reminded him of the Flames of Amaterasu. Something that was rumoured to be useable to the Uchiha if they were powerful enough – but until it was provable, it was nothing more than a bedtime story to him.

 **..::..**

Naruto glanced to Kiba and Akamaru, "You're outmatched Kiba. Surrender."

Kiba swallowed, he knew Naruto was right but … he wouldn't surrender. He was strong, stronger than the dead-last.

"I'll never surrender to you dead-last," he shouted furiously.

He reached into his pouch and retrieved to pills, they would allow him to merge with Akamaru, but they both had to take them – if one of them didn't, they could get very sick.

"Hey Akamaru, eat up," he exclaimed victoriously as he ate one and threw the other to the hound.

It never reached the poor Ninken. Instead a Kunai hit the tiny pill right in the centre, effectively destroying it. Kiba then watched, horrified as Black Flames consumed Akamaru. Contrary to what was going through Kiba's mind, Naruto would _never_ harm Akamaru; he just needed to make Kiba _think_ he would.

"Surrender Kiba," Naruto intoned. "Or your Ninken will become food for my Flames. His Ashes will be all that remain on this mortal plane."

It was spoken with such detachment that everyone in the audience shivered. The Konoha-nin in particular – Naruto just had to have met Itachi if he was _this_ good at imitating him. Kiba whined pitifully but otherwise just stared at the flaming form of Akamaru. Naruto increased the temperature so that it would be mildly warm for the Ninken. It caused the poor thing to whine in fear – and that was all it took to convince Kiba.

"A-Alright! I surrender; just let Akamaru go you bastard!" Kiba screamed frantically.

Naruto acquiesced and the black flames returned to his hand before disappearing altogether. Kiba was stunned to see that Akamaru was completely fine, just a little warm to the touch. He glanced at Naruto in confusion but he just smiled.

"I bluffed Kiba," he shrugged. "Good match; sorry about warming you up a bit Akamaru."

"Winner … Naruto Uzumaki," Hayate called.

Akamaru barked at Naruto in annoyance, and Naruto chuckled. "I had to get your thick-headed pet to see reason Akamaru. Sorry for breaking him."

Akamaru gave the impression that he was amused by the blonde, whilst Kiba shouted in protest. They were both walking up the stairs to the viewing platform when the applause started. Foreign Ninja and their sensei were applauding the blonde – he controlled the entire flow of the battle and he only ever revealed two things that he could do. Chakra Enhancement and use of fire from one hand – If only they knew what he was really capable of.

The rest of the fights were remarkable to Naruto. He used his new eidetic-like memory to memorise movement patterns and fighting styles. If he faced any of these people in the future, then he at least had data on them. He did notice that none of the other Gennin wanted to go anywhere near him, he understood – their entire preconceived notions about him had just been thrown in their faces. Akamaru was the exception – for some reason, the Ninken was completely at ease around him and even listened to him when he asked him to return to Kiba, because he was sulking. Akamaru barked in understanding and trotted off back to Kiba.

He spied several interested glances at him from the girl from Suna – Temari no Subaku if he recalled correctly. She was pretty, he supposed but there was no spark. The weapon using girl from Team 9 – Tenten Higurashi was someone that perked his interest. Her ability in weapons interested him, assuming he didn't face any of her teammates in the next round, he should ask her for tips.

There was a surviving member from Kusa – her name escaped him but her Uzumaki Red Hair was something that _really_ interested him. He wasn't sure why, but he suspected it had something to do with her possibly being family. Her chakra flowed uniquely under her skin – it intrigued him.

Naruto was _very_ interested to watch the fight between Lee and Gaara. They each fought with very different styles and the fight was a splendid example of how one could be different but still be a great Shinobi or Kunoichi. The data provided from their fight was staggering – and he would enjoy recalling the memories … for study's sake of course. Though that Sand Armour of Gaara's was going to be problematic –knowing the Suna-nin, he would formulate a strategy against fighting against an opponent with speed after that match.

So much data, and so little time to formulate strategies … Shikamaru would also be problematic.

He turned his gaze to the last fight of the preliminaries – Neji Hyūga versus Hinata Hyūga. Both relatively skilled in Taijutsu – but their styles differed. Neji used the style methodically, whilst Hinata used the style more fluidly. The newer, flexible version displayed by Hinata was most surprising. He wondered if her sensei had helped her develop it. Neji however used the style like a textbook. No originality and no flexibility. It was an informative fight – Naruto wondered if they realised just how much data they were providing on their respective versions of the Gentle Fist Taijutsu – probably not.

The fight was over, Hinata was by no means able to continue and Naruto watched as Neji tried to kill the gentle girl, despite her inability to continue – that wouldn't do at all … time to test his theory. He used a piece of stone from a nearby broken step and flicked it with a little chakra and watched interestedly as it hit Neji in the small of his back without him sensing it – so there _was_ a blind spot … most interesting indeed. The unexpected strike from the stone distracted Neji enough for the Jounin to snap out of their dazed states and stop him from using the killing blow.

Neji had no idea it was Naruto who stopped his advance – Hinata did though, he wondered if her Byakugan was more sensitive than Neji's … probably.

 **..::..**

"Everyone, please draw a number so that we may determine placings for the next round," Hayate coughed.

Everyone did so and Naruto groaned, "Great there goes my weapons advice … Neji Hyūga … I look forward to fighting you.'

"The fights are as follows," Hayate spoke.

 **Round One: Neji Hyūga vs Naruto Uzumaki.**

 **Round Two: Sasuke Uchiha vs Gaara no Subaku.**

 **Round Three: Shino Aburame vs Kankuro no Subaku.**

 **Round Four: Temari no Subaku vs Shikamaru Nara.**

 **~Interlude~**

 **Semi-finals Round One: Winner of Round One vs Winner of Round Two**

 **Semi-finals Round Two: Winner of Round Three vs Winner of Round Four**

 **~Interlude~**

 **Grand Final Fight: Winner of Round One vs Winner of Round Two.**

"That is all, train hard and bring your respective Villages Respect and Renown." Ordered the Hokage.

 **..::..**

 **That's all for this idea. I should mention that if any wish to use the ideas from** ** _this_** **Fan Fiction, then please PM me for permission. If someone is using them without permission, please tell me. ^_^**

 **I now return to completing the next chapter of Pretty.**

 **..::..**

 **PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	3. Chapter 3 - Uzu's Musketeer

**..::..**

 **As promised, the third chapter of 'Piro-san's Fan Fiction Corner' is the re-written version of Uzu's Musketeer. Not much in the way of notices except for the notice posted in the other stories that are going to be re-written as well. I'm still in hospital, and whilst I dislike using public computers, I am using one to type this story.**

 **The sacrifices I make! 3**

 **Anyhow, without further ado … the new version of Uzu's Musketeer.**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR THE MUSKETEERS!**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Biiju/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Biiju/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Naruto sighed morosely as he wandered aimlessly, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions as his feet sluggishly traversed the road. He'd just left Haku's and Zabuza's gravesite and his mind was in turmoil. For the very first time in Naruto's life, he'd possessed a true friend – one that had shared a life of pain and loneliness, such as he had lived but Haku had had something that Naruto had never truly possessed … a real reason to fight. True, Haku was trained as a tool, a disposable and replaceable item by Zabuza, but Haku still had purpose in that – so much so that the Ice Ninja regarded such a man as his precious person.

A week ago Naruto would've scoffed and denied that such a reason should be enough for anyone, but in his heart, Naruto was starting to question his path and his very existence as a whole.

'Is it even possible to become Hokage for such trivial reasons?' Naruto questioned himself, 'All my life I've screamed with every fibre of my being that I'd achieve the position of Hokage, but let's face it: I'll never obtain the position of Hokage. Not only is my status hindering me, but I've spat upon the ideals of the previous Hokage's due to my selfish desires.

Naruto scoffed a humourless laugh, 'I don't want to be the Hokage to protect my _precious_ people … I want to be recognised as something … _someone_ more than just a Jinchūriki.'

"Precious … people?" Naruto whispered, before another mirthless chuckle escaped his mouth. "What precious people? The Old Man just wants to keep a close eye on me, and I know for a fact that it's not even due to my being a Jinchūriki. I know for a fact I bear an unusually close resemblance to the Yondaime Hokage, and my facial characteristics match that historical picture of the Shodaime's wife Mito Uzumaki-Senju. That rules out the chances of being assigned the Uzumaki name at random, perhaps my mother is or was an Uzumaki by blood."

Naruto continued to wander, oblivious to the path in which his feet were taking him, the scenery merged and became a blur to the blonde haired boy, and the sounds of everything surrounding him became muted and indecipherable. He wasn't certain of how long he'd trudged aimlessly, but it was a startled yelp and an almost hysterically joyous cry that snapped him out of his reverie.

 **..::..**

Hatake Kakashi, Sensei or teacher of Team 7 frowned as he gazed at his usually hyperactive student. It just wasn't like the blonde haired youth to be so … dead to the world around him. He understood that he shouldn't leave his clearly troubled student on his own, but he needed to return to his other students: Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Deciding quickly, he created a **Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone)** to follow Naruto, whilst he returned to his other two students – Naruto needed to sort things out on his own.

The **Kage Bunshin** followed his troubled student, and like its creator it deemed it necessary to let Naruto think things through on his own. Kakashi was by no means blind to the keen intellect that Naruto had decided to hide, in fact Kakashi even approved of the action, as it meant that someone would eventually be truly blind to it and be caught off guard. Kakashi's **Shadow Clone** followed Naruto for almost an hour before it felt the need to bring his creator's wayward student back to their client's – Tazuna's home.

The Clone glanced at Naruto and gasped silently, for Naruto appeared almost ethereal as the fog and humid weather made it look as though Naruto was gliding on water. It certainly couldn't be Water Walking, as the Clone's creator had yet to instruct his students in the skill, but there Naruto was, his silhouette seemingly floating gracefully.

Then the illusion shattered and the Clone bore witness to a majestic palace fazing into existence, as though it was from a completely other world entirely. Naruto – for all of his obliviousness, was blind to the fact that he'd passed the regal and imposing gates and crossed onto the grand palace's land.

The Clone panicked and released a startled yelp before trying to garner his creator's student's attention.

"Naruto!" it shouted, snapping the boy out of his thoughts.

It had the unexpected side effect of drawing the attention of the various citizens of Wave, where their mission was located. "Naruto I need you to walk towards me …"

 **..::..**

Whatever Kakashi's Clone was about to say was cut off by a joyous scream … one that originated from an older woman with deep green hair and wrinkles that marred her face like battle scars.

"A-A Royal Uzumaki Clan Member has returned!" she shouted in joy, others around her soon followed her example and started to cry out in happiness.

Tears were shed by a few of the _really_ old citizens as they looked to Naruto and then to something above him. This continuous action by the onlookers had Naruto and Kakashi's Clone following their example, and they too gasped – Naruto more so than Kakashi's Clone. For high above Naruto on the giant _open_ gate bore a crest that both were very familiar with … the Uzumaki Clan Crest.

Naruto glanced to his Sensei and recognised the look of realisation on Kakashi's face. Naruto's gaze sharpened and he felt a sense of betrayal from one that was becoming dear to his heart – did his Sensei know that he was from the Uzumaki Clan? Had his teacher been holding back the information that his heart and soul so desperately sought?

Naruto shakily turned his questioning and betrayed gaze to his sensei.

Kakashi's Clone immediately knew the questions that suddenly plagued his creator's student – Naruto was like an open book when faced with the unknown. It attempted to speak, but words failed it, instead it tried to approach the regal gates that Naruto had effortlessly passed earlier.

Naruto glared at his teacher, how could he just try to ignore what was happening? His glare must've triggered something, because what Naruto then recognised as a clone was suddenly terminated by a powerful electrical current. Naruto immediately whipped his head around to the source and his eyes widened. There, crouching low was what appeared to be a ghost-like warrior wearing odd, foreign looking clothing, the ghost's hand touching a glowing seal on the ground.

"Were you harmed my Lord?" the ghost spoke in a clear and soothing voice.

Despite the soothing tone, Naruto's mind was in turmoil – what if that hadn't been a clone?

"That was my sensei from Konoha," Naruto whispered slightly fearful, true he knew that it was only a **Kage Bunshin** of his sensei, but the sight of seeing him get electrocuted to death was unnerving.

"Your instructor?" the ghost replied smoothly. "Is he familiar with the Uzumaki Clan's Techniques? He _did_ just use the Kage Bunshin. That technique was only taught to the _Royal Family_ of Uzu my Lord."

Now that was an interesting piece of information to Naruto.

"Are you telling me that the Uzumaki Clan _have_ to learn this technique if they wish to use clones?" Naruto enquired softly, unconsciously mimicking the Ghost's tone of voice.

"The _Royal Family_ certainly wouldn't be able to utilize such a refined technique as their Chakra Reserves are far too high for it to be feasible." The ghost corrected, once again emphasizing the 'Royal Family'.

It seemed Naruto's mind had finally caught up with the ghost's complete statement as his gaze whipped to the ghost, his complete attention focused on it, "R-Royal Family? I'm just an orphan ghost-san"

It was a miserable tone of voice that accompanied the statement. Naruto yearned for family, even if it was just an echo of a memory – a mere piece of information. A picture, a Clan book … anything, his very blood cried out for it. Little did he know that it was because of his blood that Family was so important to the blonde haired Uzumaki. Family was everything to an Uzumaki … Family before Duty.

The ghost chuckled calmly before replying. "Only a member of the Royal Family of Uzu can walk through those gates without the security seals activating. The fact that the gates opened for you on their own says that you … you are the current Clan Head, which means that you are the King … My Lord."

The ghost suddenly bent a knee and bowed to Naruto, it wasn't a traditional Land of Fire bow either … it was less stiff and far more graceful. The ghost raised his head and Naruto could see that he was wearing a hat of some kind. His thoughts were broken yet again when the ghost raised his voice and spoke.

"LONG LIVE THE KING!" he suddenly shouted and the citizens of Wave all joined in and bowed in a similar manner.

"LONG LIVE THE KING!" cried the citizens of Wave, repeating the phrase over and over again in joyous excitement.

This was the scene that the true Kakashi and his other two students arrived to. When Kakashi felt his Clone get electrocuted to death, he freaked out. Fighting the phantom pain that accompanied the Clone's death, he ordered his students to follow him at once. Then the cries were heard, and soon they had a surprised Tsunami, an awed Inari and a breathless Tazuna following behind them.

Upon arriving at the scene, Inari was the first to speak after he'd snapped out of his daze, he crowed victoriously to his grandfather Tazuna. "I told you gramps; I told you that he really _was_ an Uzumaki."

Naruto's teammates Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha were in shock. The people of Wave were all bowing to _Naruto_ of all people and declaring him King. Kakashi swallowed the lump that had formed at the back of his throat – this was bad, very bad. Naruto had just become aware of his heritage and even the Council couldn't dispute his claim if he was able to walk into the Royal Compound of Uzu, and that would mean that over 80% of Konoha now belonged to Naruto, the only thing that would make this situation worse was if Naruto discovered his father's connections to the Senju Clan.

It seemed that Kami was not on Kakashi's side at that moment as the next second he heard Naruto exclaim loudly.

"Eh? So the glowing seal on the gate says I'm a Senju as well?" Naruto suddenly screamed out in shock.

'Oops … I guess the cat's out of the bag.' Kakashi sighed tiredly. 'I'd better inform the Sandaime.'

Speedily going through a set of handseals and biting his thumb, Kakashi utilized the **Summoning Jutsu** to summon his family's fastest runner and tracker, not to mention his personal summon: Pakkun.

"Pakkun, it is imperative that Hokage-sama get this message as fast as you can manage," Kakashi ordered firmly, far more firmly than he had used in a _long_ time. "Naruto Uzumaki has discovered his blood status."

Pakkun felt his eyes widen impossibly large at the statement, "Understood Kakashi, I'll get right on it …"

Whether it was fate or something else entirely, the ghost heard their brief conversation and the two were interrupted by the ghost, "A moment Hatake-san … please step through the gates and we shall directly speak with the Hokage from here."

Kakashi and Pakkun both snorted similarly but Kakashi obeyed nonetheless and he stepped through the gates. Kakashi shivered as he felt himself get 'analysed' by the seals on the gates and he knew that he could very well be electrocuted should his intentions be negative in anyway.

Pakkun watched the Seals work like a hawk, he obeyed Kakashi's silent order to remain where he was, so he stayed with Sakura and Sasuke – the latter of the duo was gritting his teeth in fury.

'The DOBE is a King?' thought Sasuke as he clenched his fist tightly.

Kakashi watched as the ghost turned to Naruto, they had a short conversation before the ghost pointed Naruto to a seal that Kakashi instantly recognised, 'That seal is identical to the seal in the Sandaime's office, no one could find out what it was for.'

Naruto spared a suspicious glance at Kakashi, but he listened to the ghost and then mimicked the handseals shown to him. He sighed softly before pumping chakra into the now glowing seal. The seal illuminated the ground around the two shinobi and the ghost, it formed a perfect circle as it surrounded them lit up and then they all suddenly vanished in a flash of light.

 **..::..**

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage (Third Hokage) growled in frustration as he re-read a report from Jiraiya. It seemed that an up and coming Village known only as 'Sound' was where Jiraiya had lost track of his ex-student turned traitor: Orochimaru. Standing angrily, he pulled out his pipe and idly tapped it against his desk. It was a method that he'd developed to calm himself: cleaning his pipe, refilling it and then by the time he lit it to smoke, his temper would all but vanish. Biwako, his dearly beloved and missed wife had often complained about his little ritual, but he would smile a smile from his youth and she'd stop. She was gone now, and there was no-one that stopped him from his ritual now … no-one but one person. A boy who had grown upon the Old Man's heart: Naruto Uzumaki.

The thought of the boy had a frown make its way onto his face. There had been so much kept from the child, but mostly the answers surrounding his Family, his Clans and his Social Standing in the grand game that was politics. The boy was more than just Royalty, he was Royalty of _two_ Clans: the Senju Clan and the Uzumaki Clan.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's frown became more prominent and his pace for puffing away on his pipe increased, when a sudden bell like sound echoed through his office. Soon after that the seal on the floor, one that only Mito Uzumaki-Senju used, lit up and seconds later there stood an excited looking Naruto, a dizzy looking Kakashi and a spirit that Hiruzen recognised as the King's Guard, from the old Uzumaki Clan's Royal Family … but that would mean.

"I see you've discovered the truth, haven't you Naruto-kun?" the Sandaime questioned tiredly as he puffed his pipe. "I was honestly hoping that you would not find out until you were Chunin or higher in rank."

"Y-You knew Old man?" Naruto responded quietly. "Why didn't you tell me? You know how smart I really am, I could've kept it a secret. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised though."

"I know how smart you are Naruto," the Sandaime replied quickly, the last comment stinging at his heart. "Believe me, I know how smart you are but this was more than just a secret. Surely you've already noticed the difference in your body?"

Naruto blinked in confusion and the Sandaime chuckled sheepishly, "Just don't freak out Naruto-kun."

He gestured to the window and using a few handseals the window became a mirror. It was a security Jutsu designed to protect the Hokage, but it doubled as an efficient mirror.

Naruto gasped as he gazed on his changes: he'd grown a little, not enough to be the tallest – that honour belonged to Shino Aburame. No, his barely noticeable increase in height only brought him up to the average size of a girl. To make matters worse for the transformed boy, his muscle tissue (or lack thereof) had softened dramatically, so he had the build of a girl as well. As such, his already too big and baggy orange jumpsuit appeared even bigger than normal on his new frame.

His baby fat was mostly gone now, revealing his prominent, yet soft cheek bones and regal facial structure, now making him look even more like his girly father, Minato Namikaze or the Yondaime Hokage. His face and body gave the appearance of young and pretty girl, and Naruto sighed morosely at the revelation. The biggest change however, was his hair. How he never noticed the change was beyond him, but now his blonde hair no longer spiked at odd angles that shot off in every direction … his now Uzumaki Clan blood red hair coloured locks fell softly against his scalp, like waves in the ocean and that was enhanced by a single wave of Namikaze/Senju blonde hair, that sat innocently on his fringe. Now that his hair fell flat, its length was far more noticeable in that it now reached his lower neck, almost shoulder length.

It was almost over when Naruto let out a gurgled sound when his eyes took in his cheeks – for they were free of the whiskers that had plagued him since birth. Tears rolled down his now, mark free cheeks. He was free … free from the Stigmata of those damn whiskers, which had cursed him.

His change was finally over when the colour of the skin above his eyes, suddenly shifted to a light shading of dark blue almost black. Naruto blushed slightly, it looked kind of like eyeshadow that he'd seen girls wear … maybe he could say it was battle paint? His thoughts were interrupted by a chuckle from Hiruzen and he looked to the old man in confusion.

"Those are the infamous Senju Clan mark Naruto-kun," Hiruzen chuckled. "My teacher, the First Hokage had red markings on his chest, his brother and my second teacher: the Second Hokage had the red lines on his face … and your father, the Fourth Hokage had blue lines on his chest."

Hiruzen paused but sighed before he continued, "Only male Senju inherit them and your markings are the eyeshadow like blue markings on your face."

"It makes me look girly," Naruto whined. "Can I trade them for the Second Hokage's face lines? My new body makes me look like a girl already, I can't have the markings as well – it makes it worse!"

The Sandaime chuckled again, "Sorry Naruto … but if it makes you feel better … your father was girly too."

"Wait Oji-san … you said my father, the Yondaime was a Senju?" Naruto enquired, at the Sandaime's nod he continued. "Does that mean I'm related to Tsunade Senju, the Slug Sannin?"

Hiruzen sucked in a breath and paused. He briefly debated on whether or not to tell Naruto the truth but he just couldn't lie anymore – whether Naruto knew it or not, an air of … something just surrounded the boy now and it compelled the Sandaime to tell him the truth.

"I-I'm afraid so Naruto-kun. Tsunade is … your Grandmother," Hiruzen eventually revealed, an exhausted sigh escaping him afterwards.

"A-And my real grandfather, is he alive or has he passed on?" Naruto questioned sadly.

"No, he hasn't passed on, but I'm not entirely sure that he's aware of the relation either. Your father was very tight lipped about the issue but neither of your father's parents – your grandparents were aware of the relation. Tsunade and your grandfather, who is Jiraiya the Toad Sannin shared a night of …"

Hiruzen trailed off, embarrassed that he almost let slip mentions of sex, a conversation that he'd rather avoid – especially considering his new appearance. Naruto shattered that noble notion however, when he coughed and interrupted him with a blunt response of, "If you're talking about sex you can continue."

The room's occupants coughed violently at Naruto's rather blunt statement but Naruto continued onwards, oblivious to the growing tension or the uncomfortable heaviness forming in the stomachs of the adults present. Hiruzen was starting to get an ugly picture of just how far he'd failed his surrogate grandchild, but that alone shouldn't be the reason for Naruto's … _knowledge_ of sex.

Then he realised an important detail. Despite his obvious care and love towards his surrogate grandchild, he'd never once visited him in his home. He never even sent ANBU to check on his living environment, as Naruto would simply state that: 'my home isn't an appropriate place for the Hokage to be seen.'

"And why do you know about sex Naruto?" Hiruzen questioned, managing to supress his nervousness … did he really want the answer to his question? "Conversely, how long have you known about sex?"

"I live next to a brothel Oji-san. Did you really think that I'd be naïve in regards to sex?" Naruto bluntly replied. "Why do you think I told you my home wasn't an appropriate place for you to be seen? I've known about sex since the council placed me in my apartment next to the brothel."

Hiruzen felt faint. Naruto had known about sex since he was 5 years old? Swallowing the lump in his throat he croaked out a response, "I-Is that so?"

"I learned a LOT too," Naruto continued, again oblivious to the impact of his words. "I never knew men could have sex with men, or women with women … it was quite educational. The many workers there gave me _the talk_ too … it was embarrassing at first, but it makes a lot of sense when you think about it – good knowledge for seduction missions."

The ghost bristled in anger and levelled a glare at the Sandaime, "Are you telling me that the Clan Head and King of the Uzu lived in the _Red Light District?_ This is unacceptable!"

The Sandaime let his gaze drift to the wood on his desk, his shame was complete … he'd never really put the 'big picture' in his mind, content to deal with the immediate issues whilst unintentionally ignoring the long term ones. If he'd really followed protocol, then the Council would've been bypassed completely and Naruto would've been escorted to the Royal Family's Compound in Wave, or Old Uzu as a young boy – now he'd discovered that the council put him in the Red Light District? Oh heads would roll for this blatant disregard to Naruto's health and safety.

"I am so sorry Naruto-kun," Hiruzen finally responded, tears threatening to fall. "If I had known, I'd have …"

"What Oji-san, reprimand the Council?" Naruto finished. "Yep, great plan … they'd make my life even worse. As much as I'd like to shout and complain – I'm alive and okay, the workers took care of me when I was sick or lonely … we helped each other out, you know? They weren't family … but they were there."

Silence permeated the office and Naruto decided to keep the conversation on his heritage.

"Is there anything else Oji-san?" Naruto asked softly. "Any more details that I should know?"

"Well … your grandparents are also … your godparents." The Sandaime finished lamely.

Naruto glared at the ground for a moment but that changed to angry tears as he thought upon the life he could have lived He wasn't complaining about his _current_ life – the workers helped him survive but the thought of a happier life made him upset. "And do my _godparents_ know of my existence?"

The Sandaime flinched at his tone but nodded sadly, "Jiraiya has a legitimate reason to stay away as he's Konoha's Spy Master – he's been leading the other Nations away from discovering you as your father's child. Tsunade however, has no excuse – they both undertook the Godparent ritual, so she knows of her responsibilities too."

At Naruto's questioning look, the Sandaime explained, "The Godparent ritual binds the two chosen by chakra to the intended godchild … it's an Uzumaki Seal that ties their fate to yours. Once you reach majority – which you just have by awakening your true form, they would be free from the burden, but as they never fulfilled their obligations … their fate is yours to decide. Should you wish to … you could even remove their ability to use Chakra."

Naruto allowed a look of true fury to overtake his face, his eyes flashed red for a moment but the Sandaime was surprised to see the influence die soon after it started, he could only assume it was either Naruto's Senju or Uzumaki DNA that allowed such control over the beast sealed inside of him.

"Ne. Oji-san … ghost-san here said that I'm a Senju, and you confirmed that by revealing my father's identity … does that make me Clan Head of the Senju as well?" Naruto questioned with a head tilt.

Hiruzen blinked but nodded all the same, "Yes Naruto-kun … as much as Tsunade likes to fight it, the Senju Clan unlike the Uzumaki Clan, is Male ruled. It's not supposed to be sexist but the Clan Charter for the Senju goes back before Hashirama Senju, only the Head of the Clan can change that Law."

"And is Tsunade using Clan funds to live?" Naruto questioned softly, a silent fury bubbling away under his skin.

The Sandaime looked confused for a moment but then thought on the question posed to him, it _would_ explain her outrageous spending habits, and her gambling and horrible luck would have all but dwindled away the Senju fortune, but if Naruto was the true Head of the Clan, then her spending of Clan funds was illegal.

The Sandaime groaned, 'How did I never see this outcome … oh Tsunade, what have you done?'

The Sandaime reluctantly nodded to Naruto's question and the temperature in the room dropped.

"H-how dare she – she abandoned me and then has the gall to spend money that doesn't belong to her? Not anymore," Naruto hissed in fury. "I, Naruto Uzumaki-Senju, declare that Tsunade Senju is to be blocked from the Senju Clan's funds until such a time as I deem fit. Sandaime-sama, please summon her to Konoha and inform her of her being cut off from the Senju's coffers."

Hiruzen shivered at the tone of Naruto's voice, but he nodded as he felt the office pulse with official power, "I will do so Senju-sama."

Naruto went quiet as the anger left him, Naruto never liked to lose his temper but it was justified in this case. The sheer fury that he'd displayed was scary to the other occupants in the room – he was _definitely_ an Uzumaki, if his temper was anything to go by.

The Sandaime, Kakashi and the still unnamed ghost all looked to Naruto, to gauge his reaction but they found him gazing morosely into the mirror at his new features once more. True Naruto was very pleased to be free of the whiskers, but the new 'eyeshadow' and body made him look extraordinarily feminine.

Naruto groaned pitifully, earning a round of chuckles from the room's occupants and breaking the uncomfortable tension, before the Sandaime buckled down and explained the few truths that still needed to be explained, there were tears from Naruto and the Sandaime both during this time but they eventually arrived on the topic of training.

"I believe that I shall guide my young master," the ghost interjected. "He will learn the way of the Uzumaki Family. Never fear though, he will return before too long. Remember what happened when his mother Kushina, trained in the compound?"

Unbidden, a collective shiver went down Hiruzen's and Kakashi's spines. They did remember, aside from a little cosmetic changes, such as hair length, clothes and so on, her skills had practically grown tenfold after just one day inside the compound.

It appeared as though there was a Space/Time Fūinjutsu formula on the grounds that allowed time and space to separate slightly from each other, thus causing a time rift and giving the user the ability to train for a year in one day. Kushina had reeked of power when she'd left and her skills with her Katana had gone far beyond any other person in Konoha's history. Her skill had become so refined and deadly that even Kiri and Kumo had placed a warning on her in the Bingo Book: only those with skills on par with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were granted free reign to take her on.

"Speaking of which …" the Sandaime stated towards the ghost. "Has he chosen a weapon, or rather … has a weapon chosen him?"

The ghost shook his head negatively, "No, he has not visited the sacred chamber in order to bond with a weapon."

"I see, and you wish to take him there yourself?" the Sandaime pressed.

"Of course, as his majesty, the King's guard, it would be remiss of me to ignore the old customs and rites." the ghost countered smoothly, something that had Naruto in complete awe … this ghost/spirit was incredible; he was witty and was never caught off guard.

Whether the ghost knew it or not, he'd inadvertently created a permanent impact on Naruto's life.

Naruto started to look pale and the ghost turned to the Sandaime, "The technique is taking its toll on Naruto-sama's reserves … we shall end this discussion and Naruto will begin his training tomorrow once he's rested. For now I shall take him to the Sacred Chamber for him to bond with his destined weapon."

Hiruzen nodded and glanced to Naruto, "I can only apologise to you Naruto-kun … if I'd been paying complete attention, all of this would have been revealed properly but all I can offer as justification of my inaction is that I wanted you to experience a normal childhood while you could … though that never happened did it?"

Naruto surprised Hiruzen when he hugged the Sandaime tightly, "It's alright Oji-san … I understand, I wish I'd learned of this sooner, but I understand. I just have one question … will you inform my grandparents of my relation to them?"

"Jiraiya _must_ be informed but if I know Tsunade, her anger will bypass her hatred of Konoha and she'll come to you once she realises her money is gone," the Sandaime replied.

Naruto nodded and hugged his honorary Oji-san once more before the two shinobi and one ghost faded from the Sandaime's office.

The Sandaime sighed, "I guess it's time I informed the council, and I'm not sitting on my hands any longer … time to remind them why I'm called 'The God of Shinobi.'"

 **..::..**

Naruto gasped for breath as the technique ended, upon their return they noticed that the crowd of people had returned to their duties but Pakkun, along with a confused Sakura and a furious Sasuke were still waiting at the gate's entrance. Sasuke looked slightly singed and Kakashi could only guess that he'd grown impatient and attempted to enter the grounds.

Instead of indulging the Uchiha, the Hatake Clan member turned to Naruto and the ghost and bowed softly, "I guess I'll see you back in Konoha Naruto … please stay safe alright?"

Naruto nodded tiredly and the ghost returned the bow of respect, their moment was interrupted by a shouting Sakura, who had managed to catch a glimpse of the pretty girl that had returned with Kakashi instead of Naruto. Though, upon seeing the hideous orange jumpsuit the girl was wearing, she was able to connect the dots.

"I-Is that you Naruto?" she asked with a slight hint of hesitation. "Y-You look so … pretty."

"Yes, I've just come into my Clan's inheritance Sakura-san." Naruto responded, still tired from the technique, before his head snapped up to meet Sakura's gaze, he pouted as he responded. "And I'm not pretty!"

Sakura looked him up and down as he responded and giggled softly, though she flinched internally at the loss of the affectionate term of endearment. She was feeling relieved that Naruto no longer seemed to be interested in her but at the same time, she felt as though she'd lost something that was important forever.

"Yes, you _are_ pretty Naruto," Sakura giggled. "I thought you were a girl."

At first, Sasuke was prepared to demand that Naruto hand over everything to him, he _was_ an Uchiha after all, but the realisation that Naruto had the same, if not a higher Social Standing then him, had Sasuke both annoyed and interested. He never liked girls, and Naruto was looking rather … _delicious._ He wondered if Naruto would ever be open for courting … if he was then Sasuke was only too willing to woo the newly awakened red head.

Sasuke's thoughts were in overdrive as he thought rather perverted thoughts about Naruto, he found that he could no longer keep quiet and he smiled charmingly at Naruto.

"So Naruto … would you like to join me for tea once we get back to Konoha?" Sasuke purred.

Naruto twitched in irritation, sure he looked like a girl, and he was bi-sexual … but he didn't like the look Sasuke had given him – or the glare sent his way from Sakura, though realisation dawned on her … Sasuke was gay. She never noticed it, but a trail of blood left her nose as she thought of the possibilities … Sakura squealed mentally.

Naruto was felt sick, Sasuke was acting weird and he didn't like it. Sasuke moved into Naruto's personal space and that was when Naruto snapped.

Without even thinking he waved his arm with a pushing motion in Sasuke's direction … the result startled the group plus one ghost. For an amazing thing happened: a Golden Chakra Chain materialised out of Naruto's arm and bound Sasuke. It tightened menacingly around Sasuke … as if daring him to say something else or try to get that close again.

"Stop whatever you're trying to do Sasuke!" Naruto hissed angrily, "You're like a sibling to me, and I'm not interested in a romantic relationship with you … period."

Sasuke understood what Naruto was saying and he lowered his head in shame. Of course Naruto saw him as a sibling … they were so alike in that they shared the pain of being alone. He decided then and there that he'd protect Naruto's _innocence_. If he couldn't have Naruto … his sibling, then no one could. In his mind he cackled evilly … oh yes … he'd protect his younger brother!"

Whatever Sasuke was about to say was cut off by Kakashi, as he appeared behind the Uchiha and whispered his agreement … it seemed that Kakashi was of the same state of mind. Between the two Sharingan users, a sacred pact had been made.

They were surprised though, when Sakura didn't react in her customary manner of defending her crush/obsession and chose to simply glance at the Uchiha with a look of contemplation … were her eyes opening to who her crush really was? Kakashi giggled however, as he spotted her glazed look and trail of blood … a pervert had awakened.

"I think it would be best that I leave with Sasuke and Sakura," Kakashi prompted. "I look forward to your progress Naruto."

Naruto blinked as he looked upon the Golden Chakra Chain that had now circled back and swayed in front of him, his concentration lapsed and the chain shattered into golden sparks before vanishing. Naruto adopted another look of confusion and his head tilted once more, "Okay?"

Kakashi put his hand on Sakura's shoulder and they turned to leave, this snapped the bridge builder's family out of their reverie and they moved to follow the silver haired Jounin after bowing to Naruto once more, but not before Tsunami squealed and disappeared before anyone spotted her own nosebleed.

Naruto turned and looked to the ghost who smiled at the boy, before the ghost gestured to a rather ominous looking trap door.

"Offer your blood and chakra to the seal on the door and follow me in please my Lord." the ghost spoke before sinking into the ground.

Naruto sighed but complied and bit his thumb to draw blood; he pressed his bloody thumb to the door and he pushed his chakra into the wood. The door groaned as if alive before it opened to reveal a surprisingly well-lit cellar. The ghost was already there and re-gestured for Naruto to follow him.

Naruto did so and walked silently behind the ghost that had changed his life; they stepped through a giant transparent seal and Naruto's jaw hit the ground in shock. Naruto was standing in a giant cavern that housed swords, spears, axes and many other weapons.

They all glowed with power but Naruto found himself walking hastily past many of the stronger looking ones, as they gave of a feeling that repulsed the red haired Uzumaki. He suddenly felt a pull, something was calling to him and he let himself be drawn to the feeling, he passed many foreign and dazzling pieces of craftsmanship that would draw anyone's eye and eventually, but he kept walking.

In the deepest part of the cavern, Naruto's eyes rested upon a leather belt/harness that had a remarkable looking sword and smaller sword attached to it.

The sword's blade was about a meter in length and the blade's width was about an inch to an inch and one half and it had an ornate guard that weaved a beautiful pattern and protected the user's hand. The blade, unlike the glamorous blades that surrounded it, had a darker tint to the blade's steel.

The smaller sword, was also rather ornate in design with a similar patterned hilt, possessed a blade that was approximately 20 inches in length and about one to one and a half inches in width. The smaller blade shared the larger blade's darker tinted steel. **[AN1]**

Naruto's attention was interrupted by a soft chuckle, it belonged to the ghost as he looked fondly to the weapons in the belt/harness.

"I have not seen these weapons since the First King of Uzu," he commented. "To be drawn to these swords as opposed to the many other 'flashy' looking weapons means that you have a great destiny my Lord."

"What do you mean ghost-san?" Naruto asked equally as soft. "What are they … I'm only familiar with Katana and Zabuza's sword … these look different."

The ghost nodded, "Yes, these blades were common in Old Uzu, their sword style has been lost as the current Era of fighting took hold with Katanas being an example of this Era's weaponry, but this sword is called a Rapier my Lord, and it's made up of a steel that no longer exists. Chakra metal is weak in comparison to the steel of these swords. You can channel chakra as if it was chakra metal but with the right control you could slice through chakra metal as if it were paper. Fortunately for you … I can teach you how to use them."

"How, I thought you said they haven't been used since the first King of Uzu?" Naruto questioned.

"Forgive me my Lord, allow me to properly introduce myself. I, along with the other King's Guard spirits will instruct you in the style." The ghost bowed before continuing as three other ghosts appeared next to the first. "I am Aramis, King's Guard or otherwise known as a Musketeer. The three that stand beside me are Athos, Porthos and D'Artagnan, also Musketeers my Lord."

The other three bowed in response before Aramis continued with a slightly sadistic tone, "And I've decided that your training shall begin right now!"

 **..::..**

 **There we go, the first chapter of Uzu's Musketeer has been done. As you can tell, it's changed quite a bit – especially in regards to Sasuke and Sakura. This story may very well become a Yaoi, so please bear that in mind. :D**

 **[AN1] - I'd like to point out that my ability to describe people and objects hasn't changed, so please use Google Images and Google Search: BBC'S MUSKETEERS ARAMIS SWORDS. The Dagger/Shorter sword is common for the duelling styles in French and Spanish sword fighting, especially of that era.**

 **..::..**

 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	4. Chapter 4 - Konoha's Lord of Blood

**..::..**

 **Hey everyone, Piro-san here. I was working on the next chapter of Red Eyed Master when I got this idea, and like most of the ideas that cross my twisted and crazy mind, I had to write it out to continue on with the chapter.**

 **The idea comes from Avatar mostly. The idea is born from the thought of what would happen if Naruto could use Blood Bending in conjunction with Jiton. So there's the idea: here we go!**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR THE AVATAR SERIES.**

 **..::..**

 **KONOHA'S LORD OF BLOOD – CHAPTER ONE**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Naruto watched with a strange sense of detachment as he fell towards the ground – his sensei, and he used the term lightly, had just thrown him down a ravine in order to help him access Kyuubi's power. Naruto could no longer ignore the blind hatred that Konoha's inhabitants showed him every day. Since his childhood they had hated his very existence so he – wanting to fit in, acted like an idiot and after long, it became so natural that he just continued to use that mask to hide his pain. Now the one who had sworn to train him to the best of his ability, and had effortlessly broken through the defences that he'd built to shield himself, had just signed his death certificate. To be fair – it was really his mask's defences, as if he truly portrayed his true skills and intelligence, he knew the villagers would try to kill him – but a part of his true self yearned to be cared for, so he had let Jiraiya try … his mistake.

And he was so very tired of their hate and his pathetic existence. So Naruto embraced the darkness and remained silent as his heart broke and his body hit the ravine's floor.

 **"** **Oi, wake up human,"** a voice spoke to him – it was a voice that he had only heard once before, but it was unmistakable.

"What do you want Kyuubi-san?" Naruto replied blankly. "I'd have thought you would be pleased. You now have your means to escape your prison."

 **"** **You are a most curious child, you know that?"** Kyuubi responded in an equally curious tone. **"** **Nevertheless, you are mistaken. While my soul will be free to return to my home, my chakra would create an explosion that would level this Village and most of the surrounding land. Furthermore, the land would be contaminated for at least several hundred years – meaning that it would also destroy the eco-system here in the Land of Fire."**

Naruto raised an eyebrow but responded after a moment of thought. "You actually care what happens to this village and its inhabitants? I'm surprised – you are assumed to be a creature of hatred and destruction."

 **"** **You humans would believe that, wouldn't you?"** the Kyuubi sighed. **"** **The truth is that I'm as tired as you are human, though I've been tired for an infinitely longer period of time. I care not for this Village or its people, but I do care for the Land of Fire. I was once a Guardian of this land – keeping balance. It was that abomination called Madara Uchiha that started my reign of hatred and destruction."**

"So your escape still leaves death and destruction in its wake," snorted Naruto. "Ironic really, you must see that no?"

The Kyuubi just chuckled, **"** **Yes, I suppose there is irony in your words. Though that brings me to** ** _your_** **situation, for you see, if** ** _you_** **die, then the pact that I made with the Shinigami would be void and I would have my soul devoured instead of being free. So forgive me when I say screw you – you're going to live."**

Naruto stared at the monstrous fox, before merely shrugging. "Meh, no hard feelings then, you do what you must Kyuubi-san."

 **"** **In order to save you, you must accept my chakra as your own, and merge your spirit essence to it,"** the fox continued, just a little unnerved by the child's nonchalant attitude. **"** **In doing so, you will gain control of my erratic chakra – but be warned human; you may expect … changes."**

"Changes, can you be specific Kyuubi-san?" Naruto questioned without a delay.

 **"** **You are taking this rather well, I sensed your willingness to simply die and pass on,"** the Kyuubi responded. **"** **Why would you simply accept this extension?"**

Naruto stopped to think about his reply – sure, just seconds ago he was ready to embrace death and move on, but now – for some reason there was a part of him that wanted to show the villagers that they were wrong. He no longer yearned for the position of Hokage, if it did happen to be thrown his way then perhaps he'd just go with the flow. He wanted to be free from the stigmata that came with being a Jinchūriki, but his unfulfilled desire to still be seen still lingered in the back of his mind – screaming at him to be free.

The Kyuubi had instantly followed the train of thought that his host was pondering, and nodded solemnly. To be free and seen … such a human thing to want.

 **"** **As my soul is freed from this prison, you may feel pain like you have never felt before,"** the fox continued. **"** **I'll even give a few words as I leave, as repayment for my freedom. You may inherit an ability or two from my chakra as it merges with yours but you'll receive knowledge to control them from my memories. Oh … you may feel a** ** _slight_** **headache as knowledge from me and your parents are transferred to you."**

"Wait, what?" Naruto asked as his head snapped up to the Kyuubi's. "My parents – how can that be possible?"

 **"** **Beats me, I'm not a Fūinjutsu (Sealing Technique) master,"** Kyuubi shrugged. **"** **By the way … the name is Kurama and I bid you farewell human."**

Then pain registered in Naruto's mind – so much pain that he felt his very body like it was being ripped a part. Memories from both his parents and Kurama flooded his mind, destroying it under the assault, but then instantaneously healing and mending itself from the fox's chakra. He learned it all, his parent's knowledge, their skills from their time as Shinobi/Kunoichi, their memories and even their feelings of joy when they found out he was coming into the world. The feelings wrapped around him like a hug – a hug from his parents as the last action they could provide as they too passed on. The memories and skills from Kurama was worse – as _he_ had lived for far longer – but just as earlier, his mind was instantly repaired from the integration process.

 **..::..**

The Village of Konoha was enjoying a peaceful morning as the various inhabitants bustled about. The beautiful cries and chirps of birds created an enjoyable song that had the many foreign Shinobi and Kunoichi relaxing as they paused in their own training for the Chunin Exams.

Then it was broken.

The birds suddenly stopped and an unnatural silence permeated the air. Then a presence that the people of Konoha knew only too well appeared. The monstrous form of the Kyuubi no Kitsune roared as it reappeared right in the middle of the very clearing in which it had been sealed – only a wall blocked the creature from the main shopping district that just happened to be full, the many travelling merchants filled the usually empty spots in said market place. The recognisable form of Jiraiya the Toad Sannin crashed through said wall from the explosion of power.

 **"** **Yes, I'm free at last,"** roared the beast, the many villagers and visitors shaking in terror were hyper aware, and as such – they listened to _every_ word the demon spoke. **"** **Finally free from that wretched Yondaime's spawn, his corpse is no longer my prison Konoha!"**

The Kyuubi's malice filled laugh echoed through the streets as its words registered in the hearts and minds of the populace and visitors. "The Yondaime had a son?" "The child was the Yondaime's son – what have we done?"

Similar cries were heard and Kurama decided to go out with a bang – quite pleased with his performance. **"** **To think that he** ** _wished_** **for death – and by the wretched Yondaime's own village as well, it's a pity that Uzu was decimated in the war, they'd really get their jollies off of learning that their heir to the throne was killed by its own allies!"**

And with that he grinned as evilly as he could before vanishing into the air like a wraith. Meanwhile the Sandaime had just appeared on the scene with his ANBU in tow. He'd heard every single word spoken by the beast and cursed himself – the creature was right. They had done nothing to care for his predecessor's heir and the heir to the still wealthiest Clan in the Elemental Nations. If he was paying attention to his surroundings, he'd have spotted a mop of bright red Uzumaki hair flee the scene.

 **..::..**

Karin Uzumaki had been selected to participate in the Chunin Exams by her sensei in Kusa. What they didn't know was that she had been planted in Kusa as a child – planted by the remnants of the Uzumaki Clan. They had trained her and her infiltration was successful the moment she was granted permission to enter Konoha. She had been tasked with a single mission: Find the Uzumaki Heir and get him home, where his/her people were waiting.

Though she was amazing in her skills to fool everyone, the only traces of the Uzumaki Clan in the whole pathetic village of Konoha, was a blonde haired idiot that bore the Uzumaki name. Oh how she loathed that boy, listening to him as he declared the Uzumaki name so proudly, despite clearly not belonging to their great Clan – was disgusting and it had almost broken her cover. Despite this, she trailed him as the only lead that she had – she'd already made sure that she had been dropped from the Preliminary Round, so now she could focus all of her efforts to trailing the boy and finding the true heir/heiress.

She watched the boy struggle to even learn Water Walking and her disgust only grew as he failed, the boy was ridiculous. She had almost been caught as she watched as Jiraiya of the Sannin had appeared on the scene – his stealth was better than hers and he looked in her direction once or twice as he trained with the fake Uzumaki. Then she saw the Sannin release a Five Pronged Seal from the fake's stomach, so the boy had been fighting while sealed? Her opinion of him went up slightly after that little revelation.

Then she watched as the Sannin had thrown the boy into a ravine … all to control the Kyuubi's power apparently. Was the man a complete idiot? Forcing a Bijuu's power out by force would do irreparable damage to even the strongest of seals. Karin wasn't a Seals Mistress herself, but she was about equal to Kushina Uzumaki in skill – so she knew all about Seals. Kushina herself, stopped learning Seals when Mito Uzumaki passed on, so all her skill in Seals went stagnant as she grew. It was well known that Uzumaki were gifted with Fūinjutsu – what wasn't well known was that they inherited that knowledge from their masters/mistresses on their passing. That knowledge was transferred to their student on their deaths.

Kushina had not let that knowledge merge with her own – if she had then perhaps she and her husband the Yondaime might've lived. Now that knowledge was lost as she was dead before accessing it.

What she didn't know was that her mind still lived in her son's seal, and since her mind lived, so had Mito's knowledge, and since Kushina's mind was absorbed by Naruto – so had that sacred knowledge that Mito had possessed.

Karin then watched as Kyuubi was released by the act of throwing the boy down the ravine. She did take pleasure in watching the Sannin panic as the boy failed to access the beast's chakra, then watching him get thrown through a wall was the icing on the cake. She listened to the Kyuubi's words and she cursed herself – that boy _was_ the one she was looking for. Then the realisation hit her – the boy _hadn't_ been awoken as he should have as a child. Since the Kyuubi's seal was most likely left alone out of fear, they wouldn't have honoured the sanctity of an Uzumaki's Awakening Ceremony … no wonder the boy was an idiot. An Uzumaki's Awakening Ceremony involved accepting the knowledge of their forbearers in a ceremony that was completely safe. It was why their skills in Fūinjutsu were so feared, as they essentially inherited an entire lifetime's knowledge of Seals in an instant. Then it was their responsibility to add to that knowledge and pass that onto their children, and it continued after with their children's children.

The Sandaime then appeared and she hurried to the ravine, at least she could bring back a corpse as proof. She gasped when the very boy she was looking for _floated_ out of the ravine and landed gracefully on the ground. He glanced at her, second stage Sharingan eyes bore into her own for what seemed like an eternity, before his eyes drooped shut and he fell. She managed to use her **Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Chakra Chains)** to catch him before he fell back into the ravine that he'd just escaped from.

A sudden thought hit her, if the Sandaime found him after what had just happened then she couldn't guarantee her Lord's safety – so she made a decision that would forever change the Elemental Nations. She slapped a weightless seal on him, picked him up and then fled to the hidden Uzumaki Compound near to the place that the Konoha-nin called 'The Forest of Death'.

She was surprised when the gates opened on their own accord – a sign that the boy really was the heir to the throne. She carefully tucked him into a bed and sat in a nearby chair, she was taking no chances with her newly awakened Clan Head. As she watched over him she bore witness to the boy's body changing before her very eyes.

Naruto's body grew slightly, granting him an extra foot's worth of height. His blonde hair grew longer and eventually became the Blood Red colour that belonged to the Uzumaki Clan's Royal Family. The last change was that his whisker marks vanished, and his skin tone faded from its tanned colour into a smooth creamy colour that was prominent in the Uzumaki Clan. These changes took place over three whole days, and she only ever left his side to replace the water and cloth to wipe away his sweat or to use the bathroom.

It was as she tenderly wiped away his sweat on the third day that he groaned tiredly and slowly opened his eyes; she looked on and was mesmerized by the beautiful, royal blue eyes that met her own red eyes. He smiled tiredly at her before falling back to sleep. Her heart was thumping like crazy, his eyes were as beautiful as they were strong – they radiated power and demanded respect. She _did_ wonder how he could possess the Sharingan though, was his father a genetic anomaly? As far as she knew, the boy's father was a Namikaze and if he had inherited anything from that Clan, it would've been their unnatural ability to control their foe's blood. There were mentions of a few of their Clan use the famed Jiton of Suna, but that was all.

Then she realised the one thing that she forgot – the Kyuubi! There were rumours that some, if not all the Bloodlines were granted to mortals by Bijuu when they were still Guardians. If that was the case, then it stood to reason that the Kyuubi was responsible for the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai. It would further make sense then, that _that_ was why it fell to its power – only a Guardian, or a Guardian's gift could fell a Guardian.

A soft groan startled her out of her ponderings and she glanced to her awakening lord. Quicker than she would have thought possible, he was leaping from the bed and taking a shaky Taijutsu Stance.

"Who are you?" he asked with a raspy voice, probably from not using it for three days.

Karin stood and slowly bowed to Naruto. "I am Karin Uzumaki, my lord. I am at your complete service."

She blinked as she heard Naruto scoff. "Please, you hate me. I may have pretended to be stupid, but the aura of loathing that you were projecting, especially when I declared my name to be Uzumaki was something that one cannot fake."

"I-I freely admit to originally hating you my lord," Karin admitted honestly. "You see, I'm on a mission on behalf of my ... _our_ Clan to locate the last of the Royal Family, and you are he, my lord."

It was Naruto's turn to blink as he absorbed the information just presented. He suddenly hissed in pain as he grasped his head. It felt like it was splitting open as names, places and skills were all forcing themselves to his mind's forefront.

"Kushina Uzumaki, m-my mother … who – who the hell is Mito Uzumaki?" Naruto hissed through clenched teeth. "Get … the … fuck out of my head!"

He snarled savagely as he turned and slammed his head into the closest wall. Karin flinched at the power of the strike and moved to help him, but suddenly gasped as she found herself unable to do so. A wall of metal had suddenly halted her advance, and Karin idly noted that some of the room's metal objects were dissolving into metal sand to join its brethren in stopping her.

"M-My Lord, you must calm your thoughts," Karin stuttered as the sand floated menacingly in front of her face. "Please, just breathe my lord … Naruto."

Her meek calling of his name brought Naruto back to reality and he fell to his knees as he willed his thoughts and memories to calm – doing so calmed the metal sand. Karin wasted no time in rushing to Naruto's side and gently laid his head in her lap on the floor. Naruto's deep, erratic breathing soon calmed and he opened his eyes, staring directly into Karin's own.

"You have beautiful eyes Karin-san," he muttered tiredly as he gently reached up and ran a hand through her brighter red hair. "Your hair is also pretty; it's darker than my mother's was."

With those parting words, Naruto returned to the world of sleep, leaving a furiously blushing Karin who suddenly felt as though the room was too warm.

 **..::..**

When Naruto next awoke, it was to the melodious humming of Karin, who was gently washing his face with a cool damp cloth. She squeaked when she saw his gaze on her, as he'd accidently switched his Sharingan on to forever remember her voice.

"A-Are you feeling better Naruto-sama?" she inquired, slightly stuttering as she remembered Naruto's words earlier.

"Yes, thank you Karin-san," he responded softly. "I was listening to your song, it's beautiful. Where did you learn it?"

"Oh, this is an old Uzumaki Lullaby Naruto-sama," Karin instantly answered. "I learnt it from my grandmother, before I was tasked to infiltrate Konoha to find you."

Naruto hummed in thought but scowled at her formal addressing of him. "You can just call me Naruto, ya know?"

Karin gaped at Naruto – didn't he know that to ask such a thing was essentially requesting to be more _familiar_ with each other? The likely answer was no, but she felt the need to inform him of such.

"I-I cannot do that my lord," she shyly responded, a cute blush on her face. "What you ask of me means that you want to … uh … get to _know_ me better. I mean, it's a basic way of asking for a relationship."

Naruto blinked dumbly, new memories or no, he was mostly ignorant to all things that related to the opposite sex, so it was no surprise that his next answer had the poor Uzumaki girl blushing.

"So, what you're saying is that if I want you to address me less formally," he inquired softly. "I must ask you to engage in a relationship with me?"

Karin blushed and nodded demurely, she wasn't normally like this. Her usual attitude was fiery and bold, but her new lord Naruto made her feel special. She was no stranger to men looking at her in lust, but never had one looked at her so purely. Naruto was different from any man she had ever met.

A sudden flutter of chakra pulsed in her stomach and she gasped – no! No, no, no! It was impossible – was Naruto _the one?_

An Uzumaki always knew when they'd met _the one_ because of the flutter or chakra. It resonated with their destined partner and only two people in history had felt it for people outside of the Clan: Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki. Any more thought on the matter was interrupted by Naruto.

"Karin-san, are you feeling alright?" he asked, concern overflowing in his tone. "I sensed a pulse of chakra from within you and mine then did the same. Are you well?"

'Well, that answers my question,' Karin thought in shock. 'My destined partner is the new Uzumaki King! The elders won't like this one bit.'

A bell-like sound echoed through the room and Karin perked up. "We have a visitor, one that knows about this place. This place cannot be seen by others unless they're granted permission by the Uzumaki Clan, or are marked as 'friends of the Uzumaki' … please wait here Naruto-sama."

Karin stealthily made her way to the gate and peaked through the spy hole. On the other side of the gate was an elderly woman with her hair in an elaborate bun. Karin recognised her as Koharu Utatane … one of the Sandaime's advisors and an Elder of Konoha.

"Speak and be judged," she demanded through the use of the gate's seals.

"So it _is_ true, when I felt the seal awaken I had to be sure," Koharu muttered. "A new Uzumaki King has awoken!"

Koharu calmly followed protocol and presented herself clearly to the gate, so that Karin could see that she truly meant no harm to her new king. "I am Koharu Utatane, friend to the Uzumaki and invited by Mito-sama as her student."

The seals glowed and Karin could see that Koharu spoke the truth. Still wary of the older Kunoichi, she opened the gates and allowed her entrance. "My lord is resting from the awakening process, please state your business Elder."

"Oh you know of me?" Koharu smirked. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but when the Uzumaki Clan's representative failed to meet me at the rendezvous point … I was concerned. Of course I then felt the Seal of Friendship burn and I knew that you'd found the king."

Karin sighed and nodded tiredly. "Yes, I found him. His own sensei decided to try and kill him by throwing him into the 'Eternal Ravine'."

Koharu bristled at the statement, but it clicked in her mind as she went over the details.

"So the Uzumaki child _was_ the King after all," she spoke with regret.

Koharu had tried to help the Jinchūriki, she really had tried, but her dearest friend and fellow advisor Homura had made the child's life hell. Her inaction in fighting harder for Naruto had caused the brave young man pain. Then his sensei, that idiot Jiraiya had demanded that he be the one to train Naruto.

At first, she was ecstatic that one with ties to the boy would become a part of his life, but after hearing the report – straight from Jiraiya's mouth – that in his attempt to force Naruto to use the Kyuubi's power, he'd killed the boy by throwing him down the 'Eternal Ravine' it took Hiruzen and Homura both to restrain the former Kunoichi from harming the perverted idiot. Homura and Hiruzen both knew of her close ties to the Uzumaki – hell, she was honoured formally by receiving the Seal of Friendship by Mito Uzumaki herself.

Koharu sighed tiredly as she massaged her forehead.

Then there was the fact that the streets were already echoing with the not so subtle whispers regarding how Naruto was related to the Yondaime. Iwa would know by now, their spies would have been frothing at the mouth to make sure their Kage knew as soon as possible. Everyone in Konoha already knew, and the Councils were wailing with complaints on how they weren't notified sooner. Hiruzen had no choice but to officially acknowledge the claims and confirm everything publically. The fallout was devastating. The many civilians that had persecuted the boy had openly renounced themselves and swore to atone for everything they'd done. Others were crying about the injustice, and some were even mourning his 'departure'.

The Shinobi and Kunoichi reaction was worse. Those that suspected were now considering retirement or other drastic measures. Those that didn't know were livid that the boy's identity had been hidden from them, with the Yondaime's Guard, their most Elite Unit even threatening to abdicate their positions – this unit made Kakashi Hatake look like a standard ANBU soldier, as opposed to the 'Elite' Jounin that he was, and their loss would mean that their forces would have their strongest 20 soldiers gone … a loss not easily replaced.

Those that had known truly regretted not doing anything for Naruto. Kakashi was out of the Village training that accursed, spoiled brat Sasuke Uchiha, but his reaction wasn't going to be pretty either. If the Yondaime's Guard was the hidden Kage Level Ninja, then Kakashi was the Village's 'Public' face for their elite.

Koharu glanced to the young Uzumaki still eyeing her warily, a good mindset for one so young – it honestly reminded the elder of her at that age. Though the subtle glances to the Estate made her crack a small smile … so the young lady was infatuated with Naruto? It was sweet and she wondered if there was the fated 'spark' between them. Mito often spoke of it fondly and described the intense feeling of love and belonging that she shared with Hashirama when they both accepted each other.

"Koharu-sama," the tired voice of Naruto sounded. "I had a feeling it'd be you, there was always kindness in your eyes whenever you spoke with me. Even the Sandaime's gaze wasn't as kind as yours."

Karin gasped and abandoned her vigil to race to Naruto's side, instantly supporting him. She shuddered as a jolt of electricity seemed to pass through her at Naruto's touch. If Koharu noticed – and she did – then she didn't comment on the scene but she did smile at Naruto fondly.

"I'm glad you're safe Naruto," she spoke, relief colouring her tone. "I see that you're in good hands."

"You bet, Karin's the best," Naruto instantly replied, causing a blush the same colour as her hair to burst free on her face.

Koharu chuckled, it would be fun to tease these two … especially when Naruto got it into his thick, Uzumaki skull what effect he was having on the poor girl. She sobered up and spoke in a serious tone to Naruto. "I need your permission to reveal that you're in fact alive Naruto."

"I see," was all Naruto replied with as he went into thought. "I see no advantages in waiting to release this information and only you and possibly Kakashi-sensei can enter this estate. Very well, I give you permission to reveal that I'm alive. Koharu-sama … I seem to be able to move metal and I feel your blood pulsing in your veins."

Koharu swallowed a lump in the back of her throat. "I-I see, that means that you've awakened both of the Kekkei Genkai from the Namikaze Clan. Is there anything else you feel – an itching sensation in your shoulders perhaps?"

Naruto shook his head but then perked up. "T-There _is_ one other thing."

"Yes, what is it Naruto?" she nervously asked, before almost fainting as Naruto activated the Sharingan. "H-How do you have the Sharingan?"

This time it was Karin that responded. "From what I've pieced together, I believe that the Sharingan was gifted by the Kyuubi. It's long since been speculated that Dōjutsu, along with other Kekkei Genkai, were gifted to Clans by Bijuu or Guardians."

Naruto stared at Karin in awe. "Wow, you're clever Karin-san that was awesome!"

Koharu watched in amusement as Karin blushed again before nodding seriously again. "You may be right Karin-san. I will leave now Naruto, to inform Hiruzen and the Council that you're alive. They'll expect proof, so be prepared to be summoned. I'll have scrolls on the Namikaze Clan's Kekkei Genkai brought to you as soon as possible."

A playful smirk appeared on her face as she added. "Don't forget to train; you have a Blood Oath to fulfil to Hinata Hyūga of the Hyūga Clan after all."

Naruto paled as he remembered the oath, and that he hadn't trained in days.

"You're right, I have a lot of work to do!" he cried out, before staggering indoors to find his shinobi gear.

"That boy will never change," Koharu mused. "It proves that he's an Uzumaki though."

 **..::..**

 **I know it's just a teaser, but this idea's been floating about for a while. Another idea may be written down soon as well. It's an idea with an element from Doctor Who of all things. Gods, I love that show.**

 **Anyhow, thanks for reading. :D**

 **..::..**

 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	5. Chapter 5 - Untitled

**..::..**

 **So here we are for another chapter of Piro-san's Fan Fiction Corner. As stated at the end of the previous chapter, the idea for this chapter sprung to me while watching Doctor Who.**

 **This chapter/idea also marks the first Fem!Naru chapter of my Fan Fiction Corner.**

 **Not much else to explain, and please enjoy.**

 **..::..**

 **Untitled - Chapter 01**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR DOCTOR WHO!**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Naruto stared defiantly as he gazed into the white eyes of Neji Hyūga. The first round of the Chunin Exams was underway and it was _not_ going Naruto's way.

"First an incompetent Sensei who only really taught me to summon," Naruto muttered, unaware that the arena had Voice Projection Seals so that everything said could be heard. "And now a bloodthirsty audience screaming for my blood … if the Uzumaki Clan knew about this, we'd have already cut ties with them."

Naruto was indeed correct, for as dense as he made others believe him to be – he was still the official heir to the Uzumaki Clan, and a Royal to boot. The only obstacle he faced in claiming his birthright was the Konoha Council. Not only that, but Naruto was actually rather brilliant – the Sandaime Hokage (Third Hokage) knew it, Kakashi ignored it by writing it off as spur of the moment ideas, and his teammates just outright ignored him – just like their entire graduating class.

The sole reason that he had to hide his intelligence was the populace of the Village. They were not the kindest to him as they believed him to be the Kyuubi no Kitsune (The Nine Tailed Fox) in human form.

His father, oh yes he knew – but his father, Minato Namikaze – the Yondaime Hokage (Fourth Hokage) had sealed the misunderstood Bijuu into him as he'd escaped from his mother's Seal at the time of Naruto's birth. His mother, Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze had held back the misunderstood Bijuu for years before her seal was forced open by an Unknown Uchiha Male – oh he knew about that too … one didn't survive on their own without having knowledge to fall back on.

Kurama, the real name of the Nine Tailed Fox, was rather open once he'd been released from his hatred – a hatred born from a Sharingan Genjutsu (Illusionary Technique). Kurama explained the circumstances surrounding his birth and how he foolishly believed that the Uchiha Clan would handle the gift that he'd granted them honourably.

But that mattered little as Naruto tiredly lifted his gaze to the Hyūga in front of him.

"Give up _dead-last,_ " Neji spat venomously. "You are out of your league peasant."

Naruto knew that Neji was right, intelligence alone mattered little when facing a superior opponent with equally superior training. Naruto let loose a humourless chuckle and turned to face the Konoha audience. It seemed that his muttering had the people confused – they all knew of the mighty Uzumaki Clan, but wrote the 'Demon Brat' off as a simple orphan. The more intelligent Villagers – namely the merchants who owed their family's vast wealth to the Uzumaki Clan, were sweating. His words echoed through their minds … if Naruto really was a member of the Uzumaki Clan, then they were breaking age old alliances by harming him … and alliances sealed in Blood Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques) were not to be messed with.

The Fire Daimyo was livid. Naruto could hear him demanding answers from the Konoha Council, and the Sandaime, Hiruzen Sarutobi was enjoying every moment of it. He had already slipped the knowledge to the Fire Daimyo by simply agreeing that Naruto was telling the truth, and the Konoha Council was scrambling to save their asses.

Naruto chuckled again, as he spat out a glob of blood. "Yeah, you're probably right Neji-san. I _am_ out of my league … but I'm a proud member of the Uzumaki Clan – and as such, I will _not_ back down."

The resolve in Naruto's voice shook Neji deep in his bones. That didn't last long though, as he bristled in anger and charged forward with a lethal strike aimed at Naruto's heart.

'Are you sure about this Kurama?' Naruto asked nervously.

 **"** **Yeah brat, let him hit you,"** Kurama replied instantly. **"** **The strike will start the chain reaction to awaken your Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit)."**

'I still think you're having me on, but I trust you,' Naruto muttered, his gaze on Neji as he was almost upon him.

 **"** **Hey brat, you should probably know that you can expect certain …** ** _changes_** **once you awaken it right?"** Kurama enquired gruffly from his cell.

'Yes, you mentioned it once before,' Naruto responded, now sounding suspicious. 'You said that there'd only be tiny changes though … how big of a change are we talking about here?'

 **"** **A complete regeneration kid,"** the Bijuu promptly replied, not sounding the least bit sorry. **"** **Oh … heads up!"**

Naruto snapped his gaze up in time to see Neji's chakra coated fingers strike his heart.

'Goodbye Kurama,' Naruto thought. 'It was an honour to know you.'

 **"** **And I'm glad to have met you kid,"** Kurama responded. **"** **See you on the other side, just remember that I'll likely sleep for a few years after this."**

'I'll miss our conversations,' Naruto thought with a chuckle. 'Sleep well Kurama.'

And with that, Naruto's eyes drifted shut.

Neji staggered back in shock … he'd actually expected Naruto to dodge that strike! The proctor for the match was instantly on edge and by Naruto's side … the stupid Hyūga kid had just _killed_ the Jinchūriki … and that was very bad.

"Medic, we need a Medic stat!" he shouted in a no nonsense tone.

The Villagers and onlookers were in a state of shock … the demon brat was actually dead? Hiruzen and the Village Elders: Homura and Koharu were instantly in the arena – if the Kyuubi wanted to escape then the time was ripe.

Imagine their shock when Naruto leapt back to his feet, a strange look on his face, as if he was seeing the world for the very first time.

"Wow, now _that_ was a rush!" he blurted out like a child on a sugar high. "Oh …" here he paused as he looked himself over. "That's rather … _odd_ I seem to have missed the regeneration cycle … oops, no! Here it comes!"

With those few words, Naruto was engulfed in a pure golden energy. It exploded outwards and blew back the Hokage, his Elders, the Proctor and Neji. Villagers began to become restless … were they wrong and the brat _wasn't_ the Kyuubi? Was it now escaping its prison?

Hiruzen and those in the arena watched on in morbid fascination as Naruto's body actually _transformed_ right in front of their eyes. His sun kissed blonde hair grew, his body became softer, fairer and feminine, and his frame grew slightly. As the golden light faded, Naruto let out a pained yell, and the onlookers were quick to notice the change in Naruto's voice as well.

When it faded completely, they were left in pure shock as instead of the Naruto they knew … there was a beautiful young lady standing before them. Her long, silky hair reached her lower back – it had remained that beautiful golden blonde colour inherited from her father. Her high cheekbones and soft features enhanced her regal appearance and her skin was an enticing creamy pale colour. Her now soft, pink lips were fuller and pouty, and she possessed a cute nose. Her long eyelashes framed her eyes as they snapped open – her eyes were a royal blue colour that shined with curiosity and life as they darted in every direction to analyse anything and everything they could.

"That. Was. Weird!" she exclaimed, before suddenly halting. The young beauty then opened her mouth wide and made funny faces as she licked at her teeth and around her mouth. "Sweet, new teeth _and_ voice … a bit girly though … wait a second."

The boy turned girl then ran her hands over her hair and neck, feeling her throat and then moving down to her chest. She squeezed her new additions thoughtfully. "Kami, I've transformed into a boy with breasts … no, that doesn't sound right. I must be a girl then … wow who knew that could happen? Stupid question … that damn fur ball probably knew but meh – hindsight and all that – rather be a girl then dead right? Hmmm, feels like … b-cups?"

She had another squeeze and nodded as if agreeing to her own question. "Yup, _definitely_ b-cup."

She felt her way down until she reached her pants, before unashamedly reaching in for a feel. "And _that's_ gone too … definitely a girl … yup."

She paused and tilted her head to the side softly. "There's _something_ I need to remember, but for the life of me can't recall _what_ it is – how curious! I think it was important … but … oh!"

She giggled and hummed before she spoke again. "New memories, wow, didn't know that could happen … K-Ku-Kushina? Is that me? No, no, no I seem to remember being called something else … Minato? No, that's not right … I'm … I'm."

The girl started hitting her own head as she started to pace around the arena. "Ara … who's Kurama? Ohhh Kurama, sorry fur ball. Hmmm it's the oddest thing … something's on the tip of my tongue, but I just can't remember."

She turned to a stunned Hiruzen and poked her tongue out and mumbled to him. "Hey old man, is there anything on the tip of my tongue … can you tell?"

"N-Naruto, is that you?" Hiruzen choked out.

The girl scrunched up her face cutely. "Na-ru-to? It certainly sounds familiar, but ohhh softer lips too … but seriously … Naruto? Aha! I remember now: I'm an Uzumaki."

She snapped her fingers in triumph and she continued to mumble to herself. "And you called me Naruto … Naruto Uzumaki? That's … my name right? Urgh … too complicated and I'm definitely a girl now … Naru will do. Hmmm … yup! Naru Uzumaki at your service ne?"

She mock saluted to the stunned onlookers and pouted. "What? You act as if you've never seen an Uzumaki regenerate before."

The silence that met her outburst caused a look of realisation to appear on her face. She then looked to the Sandaime and whispered (though the audience could hear her). "Psst, hey … old man? Am I the _only_ Uzumaki here or something?"

Hiruzen shook himself off and replied. "Perhaps that should be a conversation for another time Naruto …"

"Naru," she interrupted. "It's Naru now."

"Naru then," Hiruzen corrected himself. "We're in the middle of the Chunin Exams, remember?"

"I vaguely recall memories of _something_ called the Chunin Exams," she responded thoughtfully, a pretty look of concentration on her face. "Ohhh, am I participating? Ne, Ne? Old man, am I, am, I am I?"

"Uh, yes you are Naru-chan," Koharu responded, blinking in confusion. Her sensei, Mito Uzumaki had spoken about the _true_ Uzumaki Bloodline once, but she never believed that she would see it in action.

"Oh, should I be fighting then?" Naru asked with another head tilt. "Who am I fighting again?"

"Me, you're supposed to be fighting me," Neji interrupted, though he faltered when faster than he could see, she was in his face.

"Ohhh you have pretty eyes," she commented as she stared intently into his eyes, as if analysing absolutely _everything_ about him in a single look. "I wonder if I can have pretty eyes like that one day."

"You already do," he murmured softly, forgetting that she was close enough to hear him.

"Aww , that's sweet," she cooed softly, batting her eyelashes playfully before laughing to herself. "No, I meant the chakra thingy you can do with your eyes. There's an interesting build-up of condensed chakra behind your ocular nerves … did you know that?"

Neji blinked at her explanation. 'Is this the same person I was fighting before?'

"Ta-dah … eye change!" Naru shouted cheerfully, and to the other onlookers' complete and utter shock and amazement, her eyes had changed! For instead of her lovely blue eyes, she possessed a completely matured Sharingan. They were spinning playfully in her eyes as if they were just as excitable as she was, and Naru bounced cheerfully, unaware of the effect that she was having on the male population.

"Ne, Ne? We should be fighting now, right?" Naru whispered to the proctor conspiringly.

The proctor, Genma looked to the Hokage for guidance, but the Sandaime merely shrugged and allowed her to fight. The Hokage and two very nervous Village Elders left the arena to an even more livid Daimyo, who was demanding an explanation. Genma swallowed the lump in his throat and gestured to the two fighters once again.

"I-If the both of you are ready?" Genma shouted out. He received a nervous nod from Neji, and a hyperactive nod from Naru.

"Then … begin!" he shouted, before leaping back to give both fighters some room.

Neji was instantly on the offensive, and charged forward with the intent to finish the fight quickly. Naru watched him approach, a strangely calculative expression on her face. Her bouncing instantly calmed as Neji was within striking range, but instead of hitting a body … he hit air.

Naru gracefully spun out of his reach and then surprised everyone watching – especially the Hyūga – when she struck Neji using a Gentle Fist attack. Neji gasped and leapt away to gain distance.

"H-How?" he asked meekly.

Naru's dangerously intelligent eyes met his and Neji shuddered as they bled red and transformed into the Sharingan. " _Please,_ like it was difficult to figure out. Precision attacks with chakra to isolate and immobilize a foe's Tenketsu (Chakra Pressure Points) … child's play with the right amount of chakra control, that … combined with the knowledge of where Tenketsu are located in the human body means that almost anyone could replicate the results. That and you kind of killed me with a rather memorable strike earlier – nothing like a jolt of adrenaline to wake up the brain no?"

"Sadly, I think I have a few _choice_ words to say to certain people in Konoha," Naru apologised, before sighing and continuing. "I think you should be feeling it in 3 … 2 … 1."

As her countdown ended, Neji felt a slight prick on his back. He suddenly felt as though his body was boneless and he crumpled to the arena floor. Naru approached and watched him carefully. "Sorry about that Neji, you seem like a good guy … misguided, deluded by hatred … but a good guy nevertheless."

"W-What did you do to me?" Neji wheezed out.

"I mixed a combination of a Paralysis Seal, along with a well-timed Gravity Seal shortly afterwards to your blind spot," Naru answered and nodded as realisation dawned on Neji. "Yup, you figured it out … when I used a Gentle Fist Strike on you, I was distracting you from my **Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone),** and it struck you in the only place your eye cannot see."

Neji struggled and Naru sighed, it seemed that she had to knock him out. "Sorry ne?"

Naru then smiled cutely at Neji, something that clearly affected the boy if his slight blush was anything to go by, before she flicked Neji's forehead. A small crater suddenly formed underneath Neji and he was out cold seconds later.

Up in the stands, both Hiruzen and the hidden Orochimaru shivered – that was eerily reminiscent of Tsunade's super strength, though less refined. Orochimaru stared at the blonde child and frowned … she was powerful and he couldn't risk her new powers interrupting the invasion.

Orochimaru carefully relayed his new orders: The Invasion is off … all sand-nin and Sound-nin, pull out at once. Now one might think that Orochimaru would be livid to have his plans foiled by a child, but instead, he was giddy with excitement. 'Finally, a body that I could inhabit without dying … and she has the Sharingan too. Naru Uzumaki – we _will_ meet each other again soon. Ku Ku Ku.'

 **..::..**

Naruto, now Naru watched the fights closely as they continued. Her mind had finally sorted through her 'inheritance' … namely, the skills of her father and mother, and she sighed sadly. It was nice to have their memories, but that couldn't replace _them._ Naru hissed as Gaara's fight with Sasuke was postponed but watched on with amusement when Shikamaru forfeited so close to victory.

'Lazy as ever Shikamaru,' she hummed with a fond smile. That smile turned into a frown when she thought about the 'Rookie 9'. They knew so little about her, granted she knew very little about her new body too, but they had no excuse for not knowing her when she was a boy. They only ever spent time with her as a boy, when she thought of ways for them to ditch classes. Even then, _she_ had to seek _them_ out.

'If they think that I'll let them treat me the same,' Naru frowned at the thought. 'Then they're going to be in for a rude awakening.'

She eyed Shino making an attempt to approach her, but he seemed to think twice about it and simply nodded in her direction – she didn't blame him, his match had just been called and even she could tell that he was eager to fight.

And fight he did, it ended in a double knockout but it caused Naru to realise that she had been guilty of not getting to know Shino either, so the first thing she would do would be to visit the Aburame boy in the hospital after the preliminaries. She spared a glance at the Hokage and watched him argue with the Council … she was curious as to what they were arguing about, but she got her answer sooner than later.

"Since Sasuke Uchiha has not arrived by the permitted time," Genma called out. " By order of the Hokage and unanimous decision from the Shinobi Council: he has been officially disqualified. The next fight will be Gaara of the Sand versus Naru Uzumaki of Konoha."

Naru was surprised to see the Villages actually applause the decision. 'Huh, maybe there is hope for Konoha's future.'

Unlike last time with Neji, where she played around a bit at the start, Naru was completely focussed on Gaara – her Sharingan already active and analysing every minute detail and movement that the stoic red head made.

The proctor made to begin when a tornado of wind and leaves picked up beside Genma. The unmistakable forms of Hatake Kakashi and Sasuke Uchiha were revealed once it died down.

"Yo, sorry for being late," Kakashi spoke in a carefree tone, his lone eye curling into an eye-smile.

"Get the fuck out of my arena Kakashi," Genma sighed tiredly, he'd had enough of dramatics today. "Your student has been disqualified anyway."

"Naruto was disqualified?" Kakashi asked in shock. "Not that I'm surprised, he is a bit of a hothead."

"Yup, nice to see you too Kakashi-san," Naru deadpanned. "I'm _so_ glad to know you have confidence in my skills as a Ninja."

Sasuke blinked and stared unashamedly at Naru's form. 'S-She's gorgeous!'

Naru had decided to clean up a little for her next match, so she used a Kunai and cut her orange pants and turned them into shorts. She then removed her shredded orange jacket as it was too damaged to be useful, and her Hitai-ate (Headband) had been transferred to her neck, as it was a logical place to protect. Then she'd trimmed her hair before roughly braiding it into twin braided ponytails that hung over her shoulders and down the front of her body. **[AN1]**

What Naru had forgotten to do however, was to deactivate her Sharingan. Sasuke gasped and pointed a shaky finger at her. "S-Sharingan? How do you have the Sharingan … you're not an Uchiha!"

"Hmm? Oh, well I sort of am," Naru replied bluntly.

It wasn't true of course, she'd inherited them from Kurama, but they'd come up with a cover story. It was terribly cliché, but Naruto's grandfather was unknown – so it was easy to claim that her grandfather was an Uchiha. All she really had to do for proof was show the Sharingan, and Kurama had already created the DNA Markers in case they tested her blood anyway.

"I-Impossible," muttered Sasuke. 'Family, I h-have family!'

"It's true, ya know?" Naru replied cheerfully, a finger tapping her chin in apparent thought. "My grandfather had a thing for blondes I wager. He knocked up my grandmother and I inherited the Sharingan through my own father."

"W-Who are you?" Sasuke finally stuttered out after his mental overload.

"Huh? I guess you wouldn't recognise me," Naru muttered, she perked up and mock saluted the stunned duo. "Naru Uzumaki, at your service! Formally Naruto Uzumaki in case you were wondering."

Sasuke and Kakashi gaped in shock, but that changed when Naru made a shooing motion. "You're kind of interrupting my fight, ya know?"

Sasuke's first thought was to argue and demand his fight, but the sight of a _female_ Naruto – an incredibly _hot_ female Naruto had fried his brain – the fact that she was part Uchiha was only a bonus. Kakashi was stunned. He was positive that Minato-sensei and Kushina-nee had a son … who was this then? He didn't have time to dwell on his thoughts, as they were forced out of the arena by ANBU.

"Sorry Gaara-san," Naru apologised with her tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. "Shall we?"

Gaara nodded stiffly and Genma barked. "Then ready … FIGHT!"

This time, Naru moved first – she vanished from her spot and reappeared behind Gaara. Gaara moved to intercept but was forced to change tactics when he was propelled backwards by the strength of her Palm Strike.

Up in the stands, Hiruzen and Orochimaru winced again … just what they needed … another Kunoichi with Super Strength.

Gaara found himself slamming into the wall on the _opposite_ side of the arena. He'd never faced such power, and even mother wasn't crying out for her blood – in fact, mother had been strangely quiet since the fight started. Unnerved by the sudden change in his mother, Gaara failed to sense Naruto's presence until it was too late.

"Sorry Gaara-san," Naru apologised sincerely. "I don't know what kind of control you have over the Ichibi no Tanuki (One Tailed Raccoon), but I won't allow you to summon him here. This will hurt … sorry ne?"

 **"** **Gogyō Fūin (Five Pronged Seal),"** she cried and slapped her palm onto Gaara's head.

Gaara opened his mouth in a silent scream, before he felt his chakra leave him. Naru frowned though, she'd felt the seal's effects when Orochimaru used it on her, and knew the technique thanks to her mother's memories, but it hadn't worked properly. It should have rendered his chakra useless until she, the user, released said seal … but it had only cut off enough of his chakra to knock him out. Glancing down at Gaara's downed form, she spied the faint glow of the Ichibi's Seal.

"Well that won't do," she muttered. "Your Seal is too restricted, and it lingers far too closely with the brain. It's supposed to fit in the empty space between the brain and the body."

Acting on auto-pilot, Naru pressed her thumb to Gaara's seal and concentrated. The Seal on his forehead suddenly shifted –parts of the Seal twisted and other parts merged with others. The end result was that the Seal had been repositioned to fit properly on his forehead. It looked similar, but a Seals Expert could tell it had changed.

"There, no more conflicting Seal," she smirked triumphantly. She was vaguely aware of Genma announcing her as the Victor, but she just hummed a soft tune as she continued to thumb the seal.

Gaara's last blurry vision before he'd sleep for the next week in peace, was of Naru gently and soothingly rubbing his head and humming a tune that made him feel at peace with himself. Of course he didn't know that it was due to the Seal's repositioning, but the poor Jinchūriki found himself smitten by the blonde.

Naru smiled softly at Gaara's softly snoring form. Yes the fight was short, but she was able to help one that had suffered just like her. "Sleep well Gaara-san."

 **..::..**

 ***Evil Laugh* Yes, I know … just another teaser but it's after 2 in the morning and I'm too lazy to continue. .**

 **[AN1] – Think of Linkle – from the new Hyrule Warriors Legends Game. Her hairstyle.**

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 **PLEASE READ AND REVIEW**

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 **\^o^/**


	6. Chapter 6 - Untitled Story

**..::..**

 **Hello there everyone. I was typing the next chapter of Pretty when I got this idea while taking a break. The idea has only one crossover reference: a weapon, and features a Godlike Naruto.**

 **Please enjoy the story.**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

The first and only time it happened, Naruto was only five years old. On the night of the occurrence, he had been playing outside the orphanage when the orphanage cook decided to hit the booze. The man had gone overboard and tried to physically harm Naruto … his mistake. Naruto remembered that his pupils dilated and an intense yet welcoming pressure built up in his head but then he'd mentally blacked out. When he came to, he was in the office of the Sandaime Hokage (Third Hokage) and he was being watched like a hawk.

"Naruto-kun, what happened?" the Sandaime asked softly, as he'd sensed Naruto's nervousness.

Now Naruto _knew_ that something had happened, but he couldn't remember _what_ had happened. What he _was_ aware of was that his mind seemed foggy and it was hard to think.

"I-I don't know Oji-san," Naruto responded in confusion. "I remember the cook coming towards me, and then nothing. I blacked out and I've just woken up."

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled. 'The Seal is working perfectly, while I wish I didn't have to seal his memories of what happened, I hope that he will understand when he's older and I release the Seal.'

"Ah, well, it's nothing to worry about Naruto-kun," Hiruzen replied quickly. "You were attacked but everything's alright now. The man has been detained and will be punished for his actions."

Naruto's face stretched and a fox-like grin made its way onto his face. "Thanks Oji-san, you're the best!"

Hiruzen chuckled heartedly at the blonde haired boy. "Thank you Naruto-kun, let's get you home."

"Okay, sure Oji-san," he responded loudly.

 **..::..**

Naruto was trudging tiredly down the main street of the Village that he and his team had just saved in the Land of Waves. He groaned in frustration and rubbed his scalp firmly to be rid of the pressure that wouldn't leave him alone.

"Argh, damn migraine," Naruto hissed angrily before taking a deep breath. "I've had this bloody migraine ever since I used the Kyuubi's Chakra in the fight against Haku."

"What are you doing loser?" a voice spoke from behind him. Naruto turned to see the remaining members of his _team._ It suddenly dawned on Naruto that he felt _nothing_ in regards to the trio standing before him. His _sensei_ (Teacher), Hatake Kakashi ignored him, Sasuke Uchiha, the 'Last Uchiha' belittled him in public, and his crush Sakura Haruno, a pink haired girl, physically abused him.

'Wait a moment,' Naruto thought as he gazed on Sakura. 'Huh … I feel nothing. No compulsion to attract her attention or to publically declare my love for her ... just what is happening to me?'

"Oi, loser … I'm talking to you," Sasuke hissed angrily, he _loathed_ being ignored, and while he felt a kinship to Naruto – he wasn't going to take being ignored by him. Sasuke went to grab Naruto's right shoulder, but it was then that everything changed for Team Seven forever.

Naruto's pupils dilated as when he was younger, but this time the pressure in his mind was released and he was able to see, smell, hear and sense everything around him. Like his body was on autopilot, he shifted his weight ever so slightly to the left, causing Sasuke to overreach and be left exposed to a counterattack. A counterattack that Naruto provided seconds later as he gracefully spun and used his left palm to strike Sasuke's unguarded torso. The strike was clean and it sent Sasuke skidding back by the power of Naruto's Palm Strike – then silence descended upon the main street as Team Seven and curious onlookers were stunned by the quick and efficient defence that Naruto had utilized.

"Naruto-baka, how dare you hit Sasuke-kun," Sakura shrieked loudly and moved to hit him – clearly what had happened to Sasuke hadn't registered to the pink haired girl.

Naruto spun once more and used his right foot to drag a nearby wooden stool in Sakura's direction. It caused the stool to become a projectile that would have struck her if Kakashi hadn't of intervened. Kakashi stared at Naruto in shock … he'd _seen_ that move used against an enemy before, but it was used by his … sensei.

"Wait, blonde hair and blue eyes," Kakashi muttered in shock. "How could I not have seen the resemblance?"

Naruto's eyes were intense and focussed, a subtle glare directed at his _teammates._

"You _dare_ to attack me Uchiha?" Naruto hissed – his voice far deeper than they remembered. "Know your place … I am Royalty."

Now that threw Kakashi for a loop, how was Naruto Royalty … wait – Kushina once said that she was from the Royal Family of Uzu, but he'd just blown that off as an embellishment of the truth … but what if it was true? If it was, then how the hell did Naruto know?

Naruto further surprised the members of Team Seven as he looked himself over.

"What the hell am I wearing?" he hissed quietly. "Oh the Hokage _will_ answer for this crime. Sealing a member of the Royal Family, he should have known that any Seal on an Uzumaki that wasn't permanently engraved would wear off."

Flexing his hands as if using them for the first time, he continued his musings. "If Father _knew_ of this then he'd be turning in his grave – to think that the _esteemed_ leader of Konoha … 'Greatest' of the Hidden Ninja Villages, would be so careless as to think that he could get away with this."

Naruto ran a hand through his darkening hair … wait, his hair _was_ darkening – in fact it was doing more than just darkening … and Naruto didn't even notice as he went back to picking at his orange jumpsuit.

Naruto's hair grew to shoulder length; it lost its wild look and fell flat against his head. Its colour deepening to a raven black colour with a single red streak on the fringe … his blonde hair was gone! That wasn't all though, as his tan faded into a creamy, pale complexion that somehow still seemed healthy on the boy. His eyes stayed the same royal blue colour that they knew, but his lingering baby fat seemed to have melted away with his tan. It left him with prominent cheek bones that made him give off a regal air and soft, almost feminine features that only heightened the royal air about him.

Just after noticing his new facial features, his body followed suit and also changed. Naruto grew half a foot, making him as tall as Shino – the tallest of their year, and like his facial features – his body's baby fat melted away with the tan on his body. It left him with a rather dainty appearance, and made him appear overly feminine. Naruto glanced down to his now rather fragile looking hands and sighed. "I guess the change in appearance was inevitable, I guess that father's memories were accurate if I look like my ancestor."

"Hmm, the Namikaze Clan's legacy lives again," Naruto mused, as he played with his now straight hair. "It's a pity that I was unable to retain my father's hair colour, but that may be a mutation caused by the introduction of the Uzumaki Clan's DNA into the Namikaze Clan's DNA. It's curious that I inherited this particular Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit) though."

Naruto trailed off as he sent chakra into his eyes, and Team Seven gasped in shock – Sasuke the loudest of them, as they gazed into fully matured Sharingan Eyes – the triple tomoe spinning as curiously as their owner.

'H-How do you have the Sharingan?" Sasuke managed to question weakly.

"Hmm … oh that's easy," Naruto hummed in reply. "The Namikaze Clan were once allies of the Uchiha Clan during the Warring Clan Era. They sealed that alliance by marriage and my ancestor was the _only_ child born of that union. The Sharingan Kekkei Genkai has always been dormant in the Namikaze line, but if you take into account the unpredictable nature of the Uzumaki Clan's Kekkei Genkai mixed into it … well … you can see the results."

"But _how_ has your Sharingan reached maturity?" Sasuke yelled in confusion. 'Family … I have family. True, we're only related distantly, but we're _still_ family.'

"This isn't the first time," Naruto replied angrily. "That's why I'm so pissed off – I woke the Sharingan when I was five years old. I killed a man that had attempted to harm me and the next thing I know – I'm being shoved into secret training with a man named Danzo Shimura. I received training for almost a year before the Sandaime sealed my memories – he feared that I was too strong and that I wasn't having a proper childhood. A noble sentiment to be sure, but he still sealed me without discussing it with me first."

Kakashi gulped at the explanation, the Sandaime wasn't going to like this, and he didn't either. 'They kept my sensei's son from me … they dared to lead me to believe that he died with sensei and nee-chan!'

Naruto breathed deeply to calm himself and turned to the only silent team member: Sakura. Sakura didn't know what to do or believe. Her complete faith in the Elders and the Hokage were in tatters. Her mother – Mebuki Haruno, had warned her to follow her instincts and to never trust anyone at face value, but Mebuki Haruno was once Mebuki Namikaze. It wasn't something she was allowed to speak about, as Minato Namikaze – the Yondaime Hokage (Fourth Hokage) hid her mother's identity to protect her. Mebuki never faulted her brother Minato for his actions in hiding her away, and when she met and married her father, Kizashi Haruno – she was properly given away by Minato.

Kizashi knew of course, but if they knew that Minato's son – Naruto of all people – was kept from them, then hell would've rained down upon Konoha. Then the revelation hit her like a Doton (Earth) Jutsu to the stomach.

"W-We're related," Sakura stuttered as she raised a shaky hand to Naruto. "Y-Your father was my mother's brother … that makes us … cousins."

Naruto raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at Sakura. "I suppose that's true, but would that knowledge have changed your treatment of me, _dearest_ cousin?"

Sakura flinched and looked to the ground. "I-I think that if I'd have known, I would've treated you differently Naruto. I'm so, so sorry for how I've treated you, but … but you're family now, and I want to get to know you properly."

Naruto blinked at Sakura in thought. It lasted for a minute before he sighed and responded. "I can't fault your logic, perhaps it's the Uzumaki blood in me speaking, but Family is important to me – especially since I grew up without one."

Here, Naruto approached a teary Sakura and held out a hand to her. "Hello, my name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze … and you are?"

Sakura sniffled and launched herself at Naruto, pulling him into a hug. Naruto tensed – something that Sakura noticed – so she let go, blushing in embarrassment. "H-Hi, my name is Sakura Haruno … nice to meet you Naruto-san."

"Likewise, I also apologise for my unwanted advances and attempting to strike you moments ago," Naruto replied quickly, before returning his gaze to Sasuke. "And you _cousin_ , how do you wish to proceed? As friend, family or foe … the choice is yours, though choose carefully Sasuke, I will not ask again."

Sasuke was still in shock from the revelations that had just been brought to light. Naruto was related to him by distant blood, and if they were talking about the Warring Clans Era – then his blood may elevate him to being eligible to claim the mantle of Clan Head. Then Sakura was related to Naruto almost directly … that _technically_ made her family too, albeit very distant family.

Licking his dry lips, he spoke as calmly as he could. "Naruto, we're related by blood – your blood may even be purer than mine – I _want_ to be family, but at the same time _Itachi_ was family and he betrayed the Clan. So can we start as friends first?"

Naruto smiled but nodded. "I'd like that Sasuke, so friends now, and possibly family later?"

"Agreed," Sasuke nodded.

Naruto and Sasuke both smirked at each other and the newly bonded Team Seven turned to Kakashi.

"So Sensei … would you care to join in on our bonding session?" Naruto joked.

Kakashi could easily say that this was one of the proudest moments in his life. His team was closer than ever before, and with his connection to Naruto's family, he felt as though Team Seven was a family more than a team. He realised that he had ignored his duty as a sensei in favour of encouraging them to seek out their own means for training, but he still had the responsibility to teach his team … no, they were his family now too.

"I suppose I can join in," Kakashi responded with a hum. He caught a shop at the corner of his eye and sent a quick look, under the guise of tilting his head in thought. It was a weapons shop … was that shop there moments ago?

"Let's commemorate this moment," Kakashi cheerfully continued, pointing to the shop. "Let's get a weapon for the each of you."

The trio of students followed his pointed finger to the shop and they nodded with smiles on their faces. It was Sakura that spoke for the tree of them. "That's a good idea Kakashi-sensei."

"Be warned though," Kakashi responded seriously. "I will train you three into the ground, and that _won't_ include the training for your choice in weapon."

Naruto and Sasuke smirked, and Sakura gained a resolved glint in her eyes. They nodded to each other and responded as one. "Bring it on Sensei."

 **..::..**

The jingle of a bell on the door announced their arrival to the store owner and he poked his head over the countertop. "Welcome, welcome … take your time and feel free to browse."

He was a short man with aged red hair and wrinkles that marred his face like battle scars. Naruto was drawn to this man, and it appeared the man was also drawn to Naruto. They stared at each other before they both broke into matching smiles.

"As I live and breathe, an Uzumaki in my store," the man proudly beamed.

"You're an Uzumaki too, old man," Naruto replied cheerfully. "Are you a local here, or are you a nomad, travelling the Elemental Nations?"

"Nomad," the old man responded. "I've only just set up shop here, kept that Gato from sniffing around by using Fūinjutsu to hide it from his mercenary fools."

"I see, my name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze," Naruto introduced politely. "And you are?"

"Ah forgive me, I'm Hiro Uzumaki," the now named Hiro replied. "I'm of the branch family … you however … are not … my lord."

Naruto cringed and waved him off. "Don't be like that Hiro-san; I'm not much for honorifics."

"Spoken like a true Uzumaki," Hiro beamed with a chuckle. "Now, how can I help you four hmm?"

"We're here to look for a suitable weapon for my students," Kakashi piped in. "Something durable would be nice."

Hiro looked affronted by Kakashi's words and bristled. "I am an Uzumaki Blacksmith Leaf-nin. I take offence to you thinking that my wares wouldn't be anything less than pristine and durable."

Naruto snickered at Kakashi's embarrassment, and nudged his teammates to urge them to look around. They browsed the range of weapons, eagerly searching for the 'right fit', but in the end only Sakura seemed to find a suitable weapon.

Sasuke couldn't pick one, so he declined the offer and told them that he'd find one from his ancestor's hidden vaults. They respected his decision and even Hiro nodded approvingly at the Uchiha's decision.

Sakura ended up finding a pair of leather gloves. They were comfortable and had spots of metal on the knuckles and back of the gloves. Hiro was pleased and enthusiastically explained the weapon. "These gloves are made of Uzumaki Leather, as soft as silk to wear but as durable as Chakra Metal. In fact, the spots of metal and the plate that protects the back of the gloves _are_ Chakra Metal. With the right control, you can attain super human strength through training. I heard that the Senju woman: Tsunade Senju derived her super strength from studying weapons like these gloves."

Sakura had sparkles in her eyes and Kakashi knew that she'd chosen her weapon, now they needed Naruto to pick a weapon and they'd be done. No sooner than the thought crossed his mind, Naruto walked up to him with sadness etched on his face.

"Kakashi-sensei, none of the weapons here _sing_ to me," Naruto spoke sadly.

Hiro heard him and grasped Naruto's hands with a giddy expression. "Interesting, _nothing_ calls to you? In that case, you may have to look at my _special_ stock."

"Special stock," Naruto repeated. "What do you mean by that Hiro-san?"

"What you see here, in the store is my standard stock," Hiro chirped. "My _special_ stock is for Uzumaki Eyes only!"

Their eyes widened and Hiro pulled Naruto towards the back wall. "Place your blood and chakra here on this seal, and if a weapon sings to you, just concentrate on that weapon. It'll be taken from the Hidden Uzumaki Vaults and appear here. Only the Blacksmiths of the Uzumaki Clan and the Head Family, or Royal Family can use this Seal."

Naruto was hesitant at first, his knowledge of Seals was only based on his parent's memories, but they were still someone else's memories … so he'd have to train anything they knew from scratch. Steeling his resolve, Naruto sliced his palm and placed it on the Sealing Array. At first nothing happened, and Naruto felt disappointed, but then … he felt it! It was a soothing, gentle song that held an edge of danger about it. Like it was finally happy to have an owner, but also that it would be hard to master.

Hiro was feeling very nervous now, being an Uzumaki Blacksmith, he could feel how far the Seal searched, and by judging that distance, he could tell the potential of the caller. Naruto's search was delving _far_ deeper than any had gone before … to a place _so_ deep into the Uzumaki Vaults that only their Legendary Weapons were held … weapons that could shape the Shinobi World. He watched as Naruto's face became serene and he knew that Naruto had felt the call of his destined weapon – the only problem was that even _he_ was unable to feel _where_ the sword had come from.

Naruto gasped as the wall shimmered like water, before a sword melted through it on an ornate wall mount. Naruto reverently picked the sword off of the wall mount and unsheathed it; Hiro gulped fearfully and uttered the name of the fearsome blade. **[AN1]**

"S-Souba," Hiro muttered in fear. "I-It was thought to be lost to the Clan, but … it's impossible!"

"Souba," Naruto whispered in awe of the sword. " _She's_ perfect, so beautiful and as deadly as she is beautiful."

Naruto almost seemed drunk as he held the sword, like a spell had come over him. Kakashi went to shake Naruto but Hiro violently grabbed his arm to stop him.

"I wouldn't do that," Hiro hissed at Kakashi. "The Souba is a sword that has been lost since its creation. It just vanished from existence and the rumour is that the creator – fearing its power locked it away for eternity – or until _it_ chose a wielder. Naruto-san is forming an Uzumaki Bond with the Souba."

"An Uzumaki Bond?" he questioned incredulously. "I thought that only _sentient_ swords could do that."

"The Souba is _not_ sentient Kakashi-san," Hiro whispered. "But it very well should be, the sword is shrouded in mystery and even I don't know its capabilities."

Their musings were interrupted as Naruto hummed peacefully. "She's accepted me as her wielder, I-I feel … complete."

"Then you are destined for that sword," Hiro replied nervously. "Treat Souba well Naruto-san, lest she change her mind."

Naruto bowed to Hiro and Kakashi paid for Sakura's gloves, but when Naruto inquired as to the cost for Souba … Hiro swallowed and waved him out the door, almost as if he was _scared_ of the sword being out in his line of sight.

"Well that was _odd,_ " Naruto replied as they left the store.

"Indeed," Sasuke answered suspiciously. "He was scared of that sword Naruto – it must be dangerous."

"She … she's dangerous," Naruto cut him off.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Souba's a she … not an 'it'," Naruto replied firmly, as if it was common knowledge.

"Whatever the case," Kakashi interrupted. "We should begin training as soon as we return to Tazuna's house. I'm afraid that I can't help you with learning to use that type of blade Naruto."

"It's okay Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied with a serene smile on his face. "Souba is able to teach me, and I'm sure that Mother's memories will help greatly in learning the art of using a sword in combat."

 **..::..**

 **Dun, Dun, DUUUUUUUN. That's it for this concept chapter. I hope that you enjoyed it, or found inspiration from it. It was just an idea that wouldn't leave me be.**

 **[AN1] – Picture Kadaj's Sword from FFVII: Advent Children.**

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 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	7. Chapter 7 - Konoha's Sharpshooter

**..::..**

 **So … guess what? I have another damn idea that wouldn't leave me be. Well, I can't truly say it was my idea – because my dearly missed Nameless Assistant begged me to try writing a story like this. I honestly had trouble with it and I hope that it comes out well.**

 **No crossover references except Naruto's weapon … guns. I would also like to point out that I know nothing of guns, but I have tried to research the bare minimal for the story. Please note that the age that the generation graduates the Academy is 15 in this story.**

 **I KNOW I USUALLY PUT THE A.N. DESCRIBING THE WEAPONS AT THE BOTTOM, BUT TO SAVE TIME AND AN EXPLANATION:** Naruto uses two 1875 Army Outlaw Revolvers.

 **Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter.**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Naruto sighed tiredly as he threw another kunai at the target across from him. He relished in the dull thud that echoed through the school yard, as well as the look of fury that crossed his sensei, Mizuki. Naruto was far from the retarded idiot that he portrayed himself to be – a survival mechanism from the village's wrath – and he knew that Mizuki had been trying his damnedest to teach him incorrectly.

The reason Naruto found himself sighing was that he had become bored with kunai and shuriken. Sure, they were standard shinobi/kunoichi tools, but he often felt the need to have more power in his hands. The bell rang – indicating that school had ended for the day and Naruto rushed to leave. He spent a moment staring longingly at the parents that came to retrieve their children – oh how he longed for someone to pick him up and take him home to a loving family, but he was an orphan … more importantly, he was a _hated_ orphan due to the events five years prior: The Kyuubi no Kitsune's (The Nine-Tailed Fox's) attack on Konoha.

Oh yes … Naruto wasn't even ignorant in regards to the Kyuubi. He recalled _everything_ from that night – even as a baby, his memories were crisp and clear. He knew that his father had sacrificed his life to seal the Demon Fox inside his _children_ – that's right _children_. Naruto recalled another baby crying beside him on that Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques) Altar.

That's where his memories were a little unclear … he _knew_ that his mother was there, holding the Demon Fox down with her **Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Chakra Chains)** but then she vanished, along with his brother or sister.

He had not seen either since that day and no matter how he tried to glean information from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime (Third) Hokage, he was left wanting. Shaking his head to rid his mind of such thoughts, he turned away from the cheerful families and quietly trudged to fulfil his usual routine. He stuck to the alleyways to avoid unnecessary attention, and effortlessly navigated them to reach his destination – a weapons shop simply called 'The Emporium.'

He had an odd relationship with the old blacksmith that lived there. The old man's son, Han, was the owner of the store now, whilst the old man's granddaughter Tenten helped run the store. No the old man only ever sat back and designed weapons these days and Naruto adored the man's stories. Neither knew the other's name, though Naruto suspected that the old man knew him judging by the glint in the old man's eyes. Naruto quickly hid as there was a strange amount of activity at the usually quiet store.

"Yes, someone stole the prototypes, along with the designs," the one he recognised as Han spoke to an ANBU. "The weapons are only prototypes, and useless I might add … but they could lay the foundation for a completed project in years to come."

"I see," the ANBU replied. "So the thief broke in, killed your father and stole these weapons and designs?"

Han nodded and put a comforting hand on his distraught daughter's shoulder. "Yes, that's exactly what happened. I heard the struggle and saw a masked man flee the scene."

"We will investigate then," the ANBU informed the man. "Though I think it would be prudent to inform the Uchiha Police Force of this incident as well."

Han nodded and watched the ANBU leave – now that the area was empty, he was about to re-enter his house when he heard the heartbreaking sniffles of a child nearby. He carefully approached the bush the crying was coming from and peered behind it. There was a blonde haired boy he instantly recognised as the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi.

Han had to swallow the bile in his throat as he gazed on the child. The boy's body was abnormally thin from lack of nutrition, and the once orange jumpsuit that he wore was more brown and dirty than its original colour. The boy must've felt his gaze as he snapped his face up to meet Han's eyes and he gasped, for staring back at him were the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen – eyes that he had only ever seen on one other person before … his old teammate Minato Namikaze – the man that became the Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage.

Han could see the healing scars and bruises on his exposed flesh and the smell coming from the boy indicated that some may have been infected … but how could they be infected if he had the Kyuubi sealed within him? He knew that Kushina Uzumaki had been the previous Jinchūriki and she had _never_ been sick or suffered from infection. A sudden stray thought hit Han like a **Doton Jutsu (Earth Technique)** to the stomach. He didn't know where or why the thought appeared, but he indulged it.

What if the boy _wasn't_ the Jinchūriki?

He saw Tenten scrunch her nose in disgust and he realised that she went to the Ninja Academy with the now possibly non-Jinchūriki. He moved to reprimand his daughter, but cursed when the boy fled from them. Han turned a disappointed look to his daughter, only to see that she had already realised how she had looked at the boy … the shame was evident on her face. He brushed it off and took to trying to catch-up to the boy … he cursed as his leg gave way five minutes into the chase – it was why he was no longer an active shinobi.

 **..::..**

Naruto couldn't believe it. The old man was dead and gone? Not even the Hokage had ever treated him like the old man had treated him. The Elders treated him kindly, the woman more so than the man, but this old man had only ever treated him with complete kindness, like he was a grandson or family. Naruto cried for the injustice of it all and although he tried to remain quiet in his suffering – he couldn't stop the sniffles and sobs … he was only five after all.

He heard the bush shake and he snapped his gaze to the eyes of Han, the old man's son. He saw the man gasp and felt as though he was being analysed by the man. He shifted his teary gaze to the girl that he went to the academy with and cringed at her look of disgust. Any other day, Naruto could've and would've shrugged that look off, as he'd been on the receiving end of that look his entire life, but _this_ day … with the old man dead … he did the only thing that he could … he fled.

He didn't care _where_ he was running – Naruto just ran. He barely noticed that the man was trying to catch-up with him, or that the man's daughter Tenten looked ashamed of herself, he just ran.

Somehow, the man stopped chasing him, and Naruto found himself in Training Ground 44, aka the Forest of Death. He knew there was an abandoned shack near the Village walls on the opposite side of the training ground, so he made his way there … only to find the clearing occupied.

The man was wearing a mask and was carrying an ornate wooden box. Naruto recognised the box as the one that the old man had let slip that he was going to give him when he graduated the Academy. Naruto had only ever confided in two people in regards to his chakra, and the old man promised to design him something that would help.

Iruka, Naruto's other sensei and the old man were the only ones he ever told, but his chakra compressed itself. If being an Uzumaki wasn't bad enough in regards to their incredibly dense and extensive chakra reserves … Naruto's chakra liked to condense wildly at random moments. Trying to use Jutsu was difficult enough, even with the Chakra Control Exercises that the old man had taught him, but if you added that compression effect? It was pointless. Even after a year of practicing and learning, he couldn't even utilize the **Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique).**

He snapped back to reality when he heard the masked man cough – was he sick? "Damn old man, why couldn't he just hand the box over without fighting back?"

Naruto glared at his clenched fists … he was only five years old and stood no chance of taking on the man, sick or not. Naruto knew it was a long shot, but something inside him spurred on his mind to think at levels that he'd never used before. His mind ran at incredible speeds – so much so that his nose started bleeding from the strain. Unbeknownst to Naruto – a tiny, glowing seal that sat behind his ear started cracking and breaking apart. Right as Naruto's mind was on the brink of shutting down from the strain – the seal shattered on his skin and Naruto slumped lifelessly to the ground – only to be caught by a panting and exhausted Han.

In Naruto's body, something unbelievable was happening. Certain blocks on him were rapidly dissolving under the newly released energy from the seal, and his chakra flow slowed to an incredible stop … right before it kick-started itself to flow as quickly as his mind had done not moments sooner.

Outside his body, the changes alarmed Han. Naruto's tanned skin became a softer shade. Though still tanned, it now looked as though he only spent a decent amount of time in the sun, and not all day. His hair suddenly stopped spiking at odd angles and fell softly against his head – now brushing his shoulders on length, whilst its colour became a blood red.

Naruto groaned softly – luckily quiet enough to not be discovered by the masked man – and Han gasped mentally in shock as the boy's blue eyes seemed to glow with power … but that wasn't what startled Han the most, no … for the boy's eyes had the spinning tomoe that denoted the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit) known as Sharingan. The boy's eyes were still blue however, and it nagged at Han's memory. Han had often thought that Minato was a freak of nature by being able to analyse everything like an Uchiha despite not having their precious eyes, but if this boy had these strange eyes, then it stood to reason that Minato had also possessed the same genetic quirk.

'So Minato _did_ have the Sharingan,' Han thought in shock. 'At least he had them in _some_ capacity.'

Naruto was confused. So many memories and so much knowledge were now teasing his mind. Fūinjutsu, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu and even Genjutsu … all the memories and knowledge of one far more powerful and skilled than he was, were now his! It took less than a second for his mind to process them all and he realised with tears that they belonged to his father: the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

It seemed that he had predicted the outcome of sealing the Kyuubi into his two children and unknowingly sealed the knowledge of his life – memories and all – into the child that _didn't_ receive the Kyuubi. It was for in the off chance that the Demon Fox grew too much for his other child to handle, that the other child could refine on Minato's knowledge and seal the demon once and for all.

Something unexpected happened in the sealing process though … by using the **Shiki Fūjin (Death Reaper Seal)** he had unknowingly sealed his _entire_ mind's knowledge (memories and all) in such a way that meant that the child would fuse that knowledge into their subconscious mind _permanently_ … and not in the capacity of just knowing enough to seal the beast.

Minato only intended for the knowledge of the Demon's Seal to be sealed within the child … and instead he sealed everything he knew.

"P-Please," quietly gasped Naruto – desperately grasping at Han's shirt. "I-It hurts … so much death … s-so much _pain."_

Naruto was recalling the death and pain in his father's memories – and they were ugly feelings and memories. Naruto immediately clawed at his head – the memories threatening to overwhelm him and he let out a god awful scream of pain. His chakra blew outwards in a single powerful wave and knocked Han and the masked man off their feet. What Naruto didn't know was that the pulse was something that the Sandaime Hokage felt from his office … or that its signature was close enough to Minato's chakra that it alerted _all_ ANBU. ANBU swarmed the area where Han was now struggling to help an in pain Naruto. The Sandaime had the ANBU apprehend the masked man, revealing him to be Mizuki from the Academy.

"Han, please take Naruto to the hospital," Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered.

Han nodded and pulled the now still child's body into his chest – he sped off to the hospital as quickly as his damaged leg would take him.

 **..::..**

Tenten Higurashi was ashamed of herself. She had seen the boy around the school and had seen his atrocious behaviour, and that showed on her face when she saw him outside her house crying. Then she saw the small things that she often ignored. The boy was deathly thin and the smell was from wounds that hadn't healed properly. She knew that since she aspired to be like Tsunade Senju: the Slug Sannin. Tenten had seen the boy's spot on perfect accuracy in all things sharp and pointy and even felt jealous of how skilled the boy was, but now that she had seen the things she often ignored … she couldn't be more ashamed of her actions.

She sighed as she opened the hospital room's door. The room was a standard hospital room, except for the fact that her tired father sat next to the now red haired child. The room's occupants were silent and the only noise that could be heard was the beeping machine that told them that the boy was still alive.

The ornate box that had been stolen from them sat on the boy's bedside table. They had discovered the note in it addressed the same boy in the bed, and that, added to the fact that the boy was crying outside their house, told them that he had known her grandfather. They had discovered the note in the box and it had explained that he had designed the revolutionary weapons to aid the boy … Naruto … in his shinobi life – though they were incomplete prototypes.

The door rattled open and Tenten jumped and bowed as the Hokage and a serious faced doctor entered the room. Han also bowed softly and the Sandaime waved him to remain seated.

"Any improvement" the Sandaime asked quietly. Han shook his head negatively and sighed as Tenten placed her hand on his shoulder.

Han had described the incident from start to finish in terrifying detail and it was only because Tenten was involved that she had the right to hear everything being discussed. Though a look from the Sandaime had her realise that what was going to be revealed was not for her ears. Tenten understood and obeyed the silent order – she left after another bow and the moment she was gone, the doctor ran through many hand seals to seal the room from eavesdroppers.

Once the seal had been erected, Han stood to his full height and merely said one word: "Explain."

The only reason that Han could get away with demanding an explanation from the Hokage was because he was listed in Minato's will as a Guardian should anything happen to Kushina and Jiraiya.

"I swear to you Han," Hiruzen honestly answered. "I swear that if I had known about his treatment … then I would have intervened."

Han deflated and sat back into his seat. "Did you check to see if my suspicions were correct?"

Hiruzen nodded seriously and turned to the doctor, who continued. "We have determined that the Sharingan Kekkei Genkai has been awoken in Uzumaki-san. We cannot explain its unique coloration, but he has complete access to it, like any other Uchiha. We can only conclude that the Namikaze Clan was somehow affiliated to the Uchiha Clan at some point in history."

"Furthermore, the same DNA Markers were present in the blood sample obtained from our beloved Yondaime Hokage," the Doctor continued. "There is something troubling however …"

The Sandaime perked up and nodded to encourage the Doctor to continue.

"We have also determined that … blocks … had been placed on Uzumaki-san," the Doctor hesitantly spoke. "Whatever seal was released has caused them to break, but our preliminary scans show that whoever is responsible … sealed everything bar his physical abilities."

Han frowned and placed his large hand on the ornate box. "A-And the other thing, I suggested?"

The Sandaime blinked. "What other 'thing?'"

The Doctor straightened up and nodded seriously. "You were correct Higurashi-san. The Uzumaki boy's chakra does behave wildly, for we have discovered that it compresses itself on top of its density and vast size."

Hiruzen's eyes widened at the information. "Then that means … all those times he complained about Jutsu not working properly … he was telling the truth?"

"Yes Hokage-sama," the Doctor confirmed. "I feel that teaching such limited techniques such as the **Bunshin Jutsu** would be foolish in Uzumaki-san's case."

"One last thing," Han spoke up – interrupting any further discussion on Naruto's chakra. "The last of my suspicions … tell me honestly, or I take my family and leave Konoha."

Hiruzen became serious at the threat. The Higurashi Family was responsible for every legendary weapon used by Konoha. Hell, even their ANBU used their _standard_ stock as it was leagues above the other blacksmiths in the Village.

"Answer me honestly, Sandaime-sama," Han demanded. "Is Naruto the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi? I have my suspicions that he is **not** the Jinchūriki and after seeing the condition of his health … I'd say I'm right, aren't I?"

Hiruzen sighed and nodded. "I honestly didn't know until just this morning. It appears as though the trace of Soul Fūinjutsu that we sensed was not the **Shiki Fūjin** that we originally thought it was, but this unknown seal that his father placed on him."

"So in your ignorance," Han growled menacingly. "In your ignorance, you have damned an innocent five year old child to hell?"

Hiruzen bristled at the comment but couldn't refute it. Koharu and Homura had been demanding him to check the seal for three years, and he left it alone out of fear. Now he finds that Naruto was _not_ the Jinchūriki and that he had been tortured by blocks in his system?

Han huffed at the Hokage but sighed before continuing. "We must discuss his training. Naruto's chakra alone demands specialist training, as you well know. Naruto's wild chakra is a sign that he is next in line to the Namikaze Clan. His Uzumaki heritage has made it difficult to control the wildness of the Namikaze Chakra, but now that the blocks are gone … he is adapting at a remarkable rate."

"And let's not forget that he has a mutated Sharingan," the Doctor interjected. "Legally, we would have to inform the Uchiha Clan of this."

"Since it has been determined that Naruto-kun is not the Jinchūriki," Hiruzen spoke. "He would be able to be adopted by any Clan that proves itself … however I must keep that knowledge a secret."

"Excuse me?" Han growled. "After everything that's happened … you're going to hide this knowledge?"

"Be reasonable Han," Hiruzen rebutted. "I like Naruto as much as you seem to feel obligated to help, but if news got out that Naruto wasn't the Jinchūriki, we'd be open to war."

"Then find and recall Naruto's mother." Han countered.

"I-I can't do that," Hiruzen answered nervously. "She slipped out from our radar three years ago, and has taken Naruto's sister with her."

"So you'll damn Naruto to another life of hell," Han concluded. "And give up searching for Kushina and her daughter?"

Hiruzen nodded in defeat. "I can't see any other option. I'll have a trusted ANBU watch Naruto from now on and have him purchase food and suitable clothing for him."

"With all due respect, Sandaime-sama," Han countered. "That won't be enough, and you know it."

"Then what do you suggest, Han?" Hiruzen hissed tiredly.

Han hummed and was petting the box when the idea hit him. "Assign the ANBU to protect, feed and clothe him – as you have suggested – but I suggest you also assign someone to train him."

At Hiruzen's alarmed look he continued. "Not anyone like Danzo, but surely you have a loyal Uchiha to help train him in his Sharingan? Let's not forget that the child will most likely have _all_ of his father's memories, and we wouldn't leave them in the hands of an untrained child, would we?"

Hiruzen blinked. "You make an excellent point, Han. What else do you propose?"

"Simple," Han commented – presenting the box. "My own father designed these prototypes and he designed them for Naruto and him alone. Allow him to train with my daughter and me as well. Naruto gets a possible friend and I can learn what my father intended with these weapons – though I suspect that Naruto will know a little about them. According to my father's note, he congratulated Naruto-san on thinking up a brilliant idea."

"Then we will do this," the Sandaime spoke with authority. "What did your father call these weapons?"

"Revolvers," the quiet voice of Naruto spoke – startling the three men in the room. "The old man called them Revolvers."

 **..::..**

Naruto groaned tiredly and stretched as he got up. He enjoyed the popping noises as his back and shoulders were relieved of their unnecessary pressure. He made his way into his bathroom and ran the water for a second to make sure no dirty water was there before splashing his face and wetting his hair.

As he grew, his hair had darkened to a point that you could only see the red if he was standing in bright light. Naruto ran a hand through his hair and then slapped his face to wake up. Rubbing his now stinging cheeks he idly wondered if he should shave. He decided against shaving and was just glad that the accursed whisker marks that he had growing up were gone once he started shaving.

It was the day of graduation and it still stunned him that ten years had gone past so quickly.

He took a glance in the mirror to assess his body and grinned. Training had been good to his body – that and a healthy diet. He was built and muscled, but not overly so – he had the body of a swimmer, maybe a little more built than a swimmer but he digressed. Naruto now stood at six feet tall, and apparently taller than his father who had been five foot nine.

Sighing, Naruto moved to his single bedroom apartment's kitchen to prepare breakfast. Years living alone with minimal socialization – aside from Tenten and her father, along with a few others like the Elders and the Hokage – had seen him grow up to be actually rather polite. He spoke when spoken to, or if he needed to get a point across, but otherwise … he held his tongue.

He opened the fridge and glanced inside. Milk … expired. Eggs … off. Everything was off in the fridge and a glance told him that the bread in the holder was mouldy.

"Guess I'm eating out for breakfast," Naruto sighed, before moving to properly dress himself. He dressed in thick, dark grey, almost black pants and slipped on a pair of black leather boots that he had acquired from a foreign merchant that year. He moved to his bedside table and picked up a dark brown leather belt/harness and tightened it around his waist. He tied the straps of leather to his pants leg and tenderly caressed the weapons that sat inside them.

There were two of the old man's revolvers made and Naruto held both – one each on each side in a unique holster. Tenten had crafted them for him since he had been complaining about having to carry them around. Unlike the metals used for kunai and shuriken, the old man had somehow come across Uzumaki Chakra Metal and had forged them from it. **[AN1]**

At first they were designed to use metal implements called 'Bullets' but Naruto had since reworked the Fūinjutsu in the weapons to utilize his unique chakra. Oh he still kept the bullets mind you. He used them to trick his enemies into thinking that he needed the bullets to use the weapon, and when they thought that he'd run out … bang … they were dead because of their error. Of course he'd never actually used them on enemies. Sure, he'd used them on his **Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clones)** but they weren't counted as live training in his book.

He double-checked that they were loaded and stylishly holstered them by spinning them backwards. Once they were secure, he moved to a grey, long sleeved shirt and slipped it on. He then tucked it in and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. Over the shirt, he slipped on a button up black vest that he'd personally ingrained Fūinjutsu into to act as armour.

He rechecked the belt and holster and nodded in satisfaction. As he moved to the door he caught his appearance in his mirror and hummed. He had a dark, five o'clock shadow on his face from not shaving the last day. He debated on whether or not to shave again, before shrugging and picking up a pair of fingerless, black leather gloves that were well used from training. He slipped them into a nearby coat pocket and slipped the coat over his outfit. It was a simple dark grey trench coat that could pass as an old black coat, and the only thing unique about it was that it was ingrained with Naruto's Fūinjutsu. It was otherwise unremarkable – as was the rest of his outfit, but it served its purpose.

Naruto knew that others didn't dress as oddly as he did – the shinobi and kunoichi anyway, and most thought that he was always dressing in off duty clothing, but again, they served their purpose and tricked those around him into thinking less of him. Naruto checked the time and groaned – he still had hours before graduation. He shrugged and left the apartment, making sure to lock the place up after leaving – Fūinjutsu was amazing.

 **..::..**

Naruto walked down the street, minding his own business. He easily dodged the civilians as he made his way to his destination – the little Ramen Stand known as Ichiraku's. Contrary to popular belief, they served more than just Ramen there, but years of specialising in Ramen had seen people calling them Ichiraku Ramen, instead of just Ichiraku's.

"Welcome," chimed the voice of the owner's daughter, Ayame. "O-Oh, Naruto, what can I get you this morning?"

"Well good morning to you too Ayame," Naruto responded with a polite nod of the head. "I'd like a Full Breakfast and Coffee, please."

"R-Right away, Naruto," Ayame floundered, before moving to the back kitchen to pass along the order.

"Naruto, my boy," a voice boomed – it was the owner Teuchi Ichiraku. "Are you here to terrorise my daughter again?"

Naruto smiled and shook his head negatively. "No, I wouldn't dream of it Teuchi-san. Ayame could do so much better than a shinobi as a partner."

Teuchi frowned. At their first meeting, Naruto had been a skinny little runt, and it wasn't a secret that Teuchi refused _any_ shinobi that tried to get close to Ayame, but Naruto had become a good, respectable young man with a healthy build. If anyone was worthy enough for his girl, it was Naruto.

Ayame returned with the order and a strong mug of coffee.

"Thank you Ayame," Naruto acknowledged before taking a sip. "Perfectly brewed as always Ayame, you'll make someone very happy one day."

Ayame blushed and left the scene, and Teuchi couldn't believe how charming the boy was in regards to romance. He smiled fondly at Naruto and moved to serve the next customer, whilst Naruto ate his breakfast. After finishing and complimenting a blushing Ayame, Naruto left to head to the Academy.

As he approached the Academy, he noticed a person already waiting for him at the gate. As he got closer the form of one Tenten Higurashi was there waiting for him.

"You're early," Tenten commented casually.

"And you graduated last year," Naruto countered. "You knew I'd be early, didn't you?"

"Would I be waiting here otherwise?" she huffed, before jumping on him and hugging him.

"You haven't been around the shop," Tenten mumbled into his coat. "Father and I were worried, you idiot."

Naruto firmly held onto the distraught girl and rubbed her back. "Hey, I promised that I would come by after graduation."

"We can _celebrate_ my graduation properly," Naruto winked at Tenten.

Tenten blushed crimson and slapped his shoulder. "T-That was one time, and only because we were horny, Naruto."

"Sure, sure," Naruto chuckled. "One time, you say? Then what about the other … what? Twelve times after that … were they practise or something?"

Tenten squeaked, but a sly smile appeared on her face. "Fine, you caught me. Dad's not going to be around today or tomorrow … a project from the Hokage. We'll have the house all … to … ourselves."

Naruto kissed Tenten's bouncy hair and smirked. "Then I'll see you after graduation, my lady."

Tenten huffed, but left with a pleased smile on her face. After she'd left, Naruto turned to a nearby tree and sighed. "You shouldn't be eavesdropping, Kakashi."

"And miss out on my little brother charming the ladies?" Kakashi pouted.

"If I recall," Naruto replied. "You stopped eavesdropping when I managed to 'charm' Anko out of her panties last Christmas."

Kakashi glared at Naruto playfully. "Hey, lover-boy … Anko is _my_ girlfriend, remember?"

"Oh we know," Naruto retorted. "We do these things to mess with you Kakashi."

Kakashi sighed happily. "You've grown up so well, little brother. I'm so proud of you."

"Uh-huh," Naruto deadpanned. "I have to prepare for graduation. If Iruka catches you 'tainting' me, he's going to go berserk; I'll talk to you later."

Kakashi waved in surrender and disappeared in a 'poof' of smoke.

 **..::..**

 **That's it for the chapter. Next chapter, when I get around to it, will have Naruto using the guns.**

 **[AN1] – Same as the top of the story. Naruto uses two** **1875 Army Outlaw Revolvers.**

 **..::..**

 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	8. Chapter 8

**..::..**

 **So here we are again for another random idea story. I guess I'm more capable of starting stories, than I am at updating them, huh? Oh well. This will be my second Fem!Naru story in Fan Fiction Corner, and I hope it's well received.**

 **Please enjoy the chapter.**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Kushina Uzumaki winced as she gazed at the form of her stillborn daughter. She ignored Tsunade Senju as she swore that she could save the child - even though she knew otherwise, or Orochimaru as he gazed at the newborn with interest in this serpentine gaze. Her daughter was dead – Minato – bless his soul, had managed to reseal the Kyuubi no Kitsune into her newly reinforced seal, as Tsunade had returned to heal her throughout her pregnancy to her twins.

Her firstborn was the stillborn girl in her arms, whilst her second born was a healthy baby boy. Kushina began to weep for her lost daughter and handed the child to her sensei, Tsunade.

"Please," Kushina begged. "Please just take her away from me."

Tsunade tenderly accepted the bundle and sniffled miserably as she left the room. Orochimaru followed – consoling his teammate as they left the redhead to her sorrow.

"Tsunade, allow me to offer my assistance," Orochimaru smoothly offered.

The Senju woman hesitated, but the grief of the events and the loss of her niece's parents weighed heavily on her mind. So without knowing what her snake-like teammate had in mind, she handed over the child before fleeing the hospital.

Once she was gone, Orochimaru grinned and injected a syringe into the child. It had been child's play to be there to assist the birthing of the Uzumaki twins, and a quick prick to the firstborn with a needle coated in a powerful sleeping agent was enough to convince the two women that the girl was dead.

The child stirred as he administered the antidote in the syringe. "Relax, dear child. When I'm through with you, you will be the perfect little soldier for our experiments."

He left with the child, who strangely kept quiet – studying the man carrying her.

 **..::..**

Naru Uzumaki stared blankly at her scrolls. Her glowing blood red eyes analysing every possible piece of information contained on them. Her master, Lord Orochimaru had kindly gifted her with only the best of educations, and despite his harsh methods – she dearly loved her master.

"Naru-chan," her Master's voice beckoned from her doorway.

Naru perked up and carefully rolled the scroll back up before moving to kneel at her master's feet. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru – how may I be of assistance to you?"

Orochimaru grinned at the redheaded child. He had owned her for six years now, and like her parents – she was incredibly powerful. His harsh training in conjunction with his _silent_ partner, had borne tremendous results.

His new servant was exceptionally trained and raised. Her body was packed with highly dense and flexible muscle, and her being ambidextrous was a boon. Despite his genetic manipulations, she remained petite and skinny – a by-product of tampering with her tissue on a cellular level. This tampering granted her Tsunade's super strength without the need to augment limbs with chakra.

His silent partner had somehow obtained genetic material on two related Sharingan users from the Uchiha Clan, and his attempts to integrate the genetic material had been a success. She had already adapted nicely to the strain as they'd just performed a transplant to give her the theorised and mythical Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. It still amazed the serpentine man that she could adapt so easily to whatever they did to her young body. All his experiments were leading him to eventually brand the child … to claim her body as his own, but that had to wait until she was older.

The only defect the child had was her inability to speak. Oh she was completely capable of speech, but she remained silent most of the time unless spoken to, and even then, she was silent in the majority of her responses.

True, she never remembered the horrific experiments he forced on her, thanks to a handy memory seal, but the undying loyalty to her master was a sight to behold.

Whatever he went to say was suddenly cut off by a massive explosion from his hideout's entrance.

"Shit, dear old sensei found me at last," Orochimaru snarled. "Naru … proceed to evacuate and don't forget to _erase_ any evidence, am I clear?"

Naru saluted and silently sped into the darkness of the lair. Another explosion rocked the hideout and he cursed once more. "They know of the back entrance too? It appears I have a spy in my midst."

 **..::..**

"My Lord Hokage," a dog masked ANBU exclaimed as he caught his leader. "It appears that we've lost contact with the Eastern Breech Team."

"The back entrance?" the Sandaime (Third) Hokage pondered out loud. "Then we must make haste there now."

The Dog ANBU nodded and relayed their leader's commands to the rest of the ANBU unit following behind them.

'First I'm unable to strike my traitorous ex-student down,' Hiruzen growled. 'And now there's something that's capable of killing the fresh ANBU unit somewhere in the facility … Kami how I wish I hadn't found out about this.'

The scene that they arrived to was not what they expected. There, standing the in the centre of the room was what could be described as a Mini-Kushina dressed in a torn and battered hospital gown – though the obvious differences alarmed the Sandaime Hokage. For the girl before them had ruby-red Sharingan eyes aimed in their direction whilst standing there, covered in blood without a care in the world.

Her emotionless gaze caused a shiver to go down his spine as he recalled his sensei: Tobirama Senju and his NE (ROOT) ANBU. Her gaze cautiously slipped to the ANBU with him and she shifted to a defensive stance. He had to hand it to whoever trained her, but she was at least as skilled as his ANBU.

"Identify yourself, child," Hiruzen demanded, his chakra becoming palpable. The child blinked and seemed to ponder something before shifting once more to ready a weapon that had been previously hidden.

It was a simple scythe. No extras or defining features – just a normal wooden handled, steel blade scythe. She analysed his stance but backed down as he unleashed his KI (Killer Intent).

"I am Naru," she finally intoned emotionlessly. "You shall not harm my master, Lord Orochimaru. If my death is the reason for his escape, then I die willingly."

The Sandaime grew tired of the events of the day and he knew now that his pursuit of his ex-student was a futile endeavour to continue. Quicker than anyone could process, he appeared before the newly identified Naru and knocked her out with an incredible strike to her stomach.

"Restrain her," he ordered. "Then give her to Anko and Ibiki for interrogation."

The ANBU bowed and left with the child. The only remaining member – the Dog masked ANBU – raised an unseen brow at his leader. "Do you want to tell her … or should we sacrifice an ANBU to do it?"

"Neither," Hiruzen sighed. "We shall not inform Lady Namikaze of this. Even if it _is_ possibly her daughter – any stress would destabilize the village. We told the public that her deceased daughter contained the Kyuubi remember? As far as Konoha knows … the Nine-Tailed Fox is dead."

As it turned out – the newly designed Uzumaki Truth Seals helped the Torture and Interrogation Division immensely. Kushina had been obsessively busy since the events, six years prior. The Seal worked by infiltrating the Chakra Network of the prisoner and compelled them to be truthful.

The Uzumaki girl knew surprisingly little about her master's plans, but they did discover the memory seal behind her ear. Once it was released, her loyalty to the Snake Sannin had been destroyed, though the pain from reliving the experiments was enough to cause incredible damage to her psyche. The six year old girl withdrew in on herself and refused to eat or sleep. In the end, Hiruzen was left with _no_ alternative than to have Kushina Seal her memories.

The irony was that Kushina didn't even register the child's similarities with her appearance. She just moved in, sealed the girl, and left. Kushina's behaviour stunned those present – her sensei Tsunade being one of them, but they understood that apart from her son Kenji, and her loyalty to the Village, she cared for little.

The child became an energetic and loud brat, though through Hiruzen's interactions with the girl, he had become attached to her. She was a breath of fresh air to the village, but that only lasted six months. Word had slipped somehow – though he suspected Danzo – that she was the reincarnation of the Kyuubi. The Village looked at her in fear and loathing and started to abuse the poor girl. Despite this, Kushina remained locked in her Compound with her son, and only ever ventured out to purchase the essentials needed to live.

It was only mistimed luck that prevented the two from meeting … but that was about to change.

 **..::..**

"Team Seven, under the tutelage of Hatake Kakashi and Kushina Namikaze consists of Sasuke Uchiha, Kenji Namikaze, and Naru."

Naru excitedly listened to the other teams being called out. She had never met their third teammate Kenji before, but he was related to the greatest Hokage ever, and her hero: the Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage! She watched a blonde haired child with whisker marks on each cheek enter the room and bow softly.

The boy looked really nice, and she was eager to meet the child of her hero. When she stood and loudly greeted him, the boy hissed at her and shouted.

"What is the meaning of this farce?" Kenji snarled. "Do you think it's a joke to imitate my mother's appearance to get on my good side?"

The girls all glared at Naru, who looked ready to cry – she wasn't copying anyone! She instead bowed her head and replied. "I-I'm not copying anyone, I swear. I've always looked like this."

Kenji scoffed and nodded to their Uchiha teammate. "Sasuke, it's nice to see you again. How's your mother?"

"She's well, thank you," Sasuke replied with a nod in return – before surprising everyone by continuing. "And Naru … despite her many flaws, is not a liar. She has always looked as she has."

Kenji hummed but offered no apology. "Whatever, my mother isn't going to be meeting us for a while anyway. She has important business with the Hokage."

When their sensei _did_ arrive, it was to a deathly silent room. He ushered them upstairs and nodded to them to introduce themselves.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke grunted. "I like very little except my mother and my Clan. I have no interests outside of training and only have one goal: to find what happened to my brother and his friend. I dislike annoying pests and fangirls. I hope to become a great leader of the Uchiha Clan."

"I'm Kenji Namikaze," Kenji smiled. "I love my mother and training. I love the food, Ramen and have an interest in Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques). I dislike pretenders and fakes that try to get close to my mother and me because of our status. I aim to be Hokage, like my father."

Naru cringed at the glare that Kenji sent her way, but introduced herself regardless – though strangely more subdued than normal … if she'd paid attention, she'd have noticed the slight tingling of a seal behind her ear. "I'm Naru … n-no clan name or surname. I'm an orphan and I like training and Fūinjutsu. I don't have a favourite food, as I don't get to eat out much, and I dislike prejudice placed on people who have done no wrong. I hope to further my skills and become a Fūinjutsu Mistress and fighter capable of protecting my few precious people and the Village."

Kakashi nodded, though he looked at Naru oddly. While it was true that her loyalty to Orochimaru was all gone by the time they sealed her memories – her recently subdued behaviour was scarily close to her original self. He hastily explained the test for the next day and fled the scene.

"Do any of you want to go to eat?" Naru asked nervously. She didn't know why, but being in the presence of Kenji's Chakra was affecting her deeply.

"I don't think so," Kenji instantly snapped. "I don't want to eat with suck-ups and besides, we have plans."

"We have plans to eat with our mothers," Sasuke decided to be kinder in his response, but winced guiltily when he realised what he'd said to the girl – but seriously … what was with her weird behaviour?

"I-I see," Naru merely replied. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to bond with my future teammates, I don't have much money, but I was willing to buy … how about joining me for tea … I can actually brew a good pot of tea."

Sasuke hummed – he knew of Naru's lack of funds and was genuinely touched at her forethought, but as just as he was about to speak, Kenji cut him off. "No, we have plans with our families … just go home and don't be late tomorrow."

Naru quietly stood and nodded – she needed to think anyway … her chakra felt off and her emotions were everywhere – all over the place. Once she was gone, Sasuke rounded on Kenji.

"That was rude, and you know it, Kenji," Sasuke hissed. "She has _no_ family … just what is wrong with you today?"

Kenji frowned … he didn't know why he was acting like an ass, but the girl rubbed him the wrong way for some reason.

"And don't use her appearance as an excuse, Kenji," Sasuke cut the boy off. "I already told you … she's always looked like she has, even when mother and I went to the orphanage to give toys to the kids."

Kenji remained silent, but his mind was in turmoil – he loathed treating others so badly, and he'd made the mistake of assuming the worst in someone based on her appearance. 'I'll apologise tomorrow.'

..::..

Naru grumbled tiredly as she struggled against her restraints. She had just helped her team become officially recognised by their sensei: Kakashi Hatake, but they'd gone their separate ways … the only problem? They'd left her tied to the post of Training Ground Seven – and since the teacher at the academy had thrown her out of the particular class responsible for instructing her on escaping her bindings – she was stuck.

Naru was a small girl – petite some would call her – but she nevertheless had strength in her form. She was unhealthily skinny if you looked closely, but most people called her lean, with creamy, yet healthy pale skin and blood red hair. She possessed eyes the colour of amethysts and even if she didn't realise it – in combat, they sometimes glowed red. Her beautifully formed features clashed horribly with the hideous orange eyesore that she called her outfit.

"Why am I always stuck in these situations?" Naru rhetorically asked herself. "If only I had a _capable_ instructor."

Naru was drawn from her thoughts by the crunching of leaves. Her gaze instantly snapped to the approaching figure that revealed the person to be a woman with incredibly blue, almost black hair and beautiful soft features.

"Are you alright?" the woman asked softly. Normally, bravado would've kicked in, but with Kenji acting awkwardly and the suspicious gazes of Sasuke and Kakashi on her all day – she merely responded with a negative shake of the head. The woman looked at her oddly – no doubt aware of her usually boisterous nature, and was surprised to see the usually loud girl so quiet.

"Ah, I see –the rope techniques," the woman recognised. "I had trouble with those in the Academy too."

The woman could see the awkwardness in the girl's attitude and noted it down as being unused to the kindness shown to her. "My name is Mikoto, by the way. Mikoto Uchiha, I'm Sasuke's mother."

Naru surprised the Uchiha woman by bowing her head softly. "I am Naru … no clan name or surname, ma'am."

Mikoto's heart ached at the slight hitch in the girl's voice at her response, but it was as Naru's head was bowed that she spotted the softly glowing seal behind her ear. "You have a seal behind your ear, Naru. Did you know that?"

"N-No, I didn't ma'am," Naru replied nervously. "I haven't applied any Fūinjutsu to myself."

"That is troubling," Mikoto mumbled with a frown. "And please, you may call me Mikoto, if you like."

Naru gulped and nodded again, but that was when Mikoto struck. With speed from her days as an A-Ranked Kunoichi, Mikoto pressed a finger to the seal and muttered. "Kai (Release)."

Naru screamed in sheer pain as the seal on her memories broke. With the physical pain in her body that came from having Orochimaru's 'gifts' released, came the mental pain as she unlocked her training, her mind and her original personality that had begun to reassert itself in her mind.

Mikoto watched as the girl screamed and writhed in pain, her head and her heart tore themselves apart as she watched the helpless girl. Then something happened that she would never forget. Mangekyo Sharingan eyes suddenly glowed into the sky.

'I-Impossible,' thought Mikoto. 'I recognise those eyes … they belonged to Shisui.'

Shisui Uchiha had died mysteriously of unknown causes. The results of the investigation turned up that his eyes had been taken, but that was all they had discovered … and now Sharingan Eyes that held characteristics to Shisui's were glaring hatefully at the sky – the pain in the crimson orbs was almost palpable.

The pulse of a **Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)** alerted her to the presence of another and blinked in shock as the Hokage himself, stood next to her, eyeing the girl rolling around in pain.

"Damn, her seal has been broken," Hiruzen cursed. "We can't re-seal her a second time."

"Y-You knew," Mikoto whispered with a tone of betrayal. "She has Shisui's eyes, Hokage- _sama."_

The Sandaime winced at Mikoto's tone. The only reason she had survived the Uchiha Attack, along with some others was due to her skills and the actions of Itachi Uchiha and Kushina Namikaze. But the current Uchiha were only loyal to the Village because of her voice on the council. If Mikoto was displeased, then even with their diminished numbers – they could cause irreparable damage to either the economy or the Village itself.

The girl stopped screaming and simply stared at the darkening evening sky. She remained there, unmoving for five minutes before she ever-so-slightly shifted her hardened gaze to the Hokage. Her eyes said it all to the old man.

'Why did you do it?' they demanded an answer – and she had every right to an answer. Naru was recovering … slowly, but surely, she was recovering, but since her recovery was slow, they decided to seal her.

"For what it's worth, Naru," Hiruzen spoke. "We hoped that by sealing you, your mind could recover unhindered until you could be unsealed safely."

"Bullshit," Naru finally croaked in response – her voice affected by her screaming earlier. "You had no right, old man."

"You're right," Hiruzen readily agreed. "But it was the safest course of action to protect the village."

"The Village – you're worried about the _Village?_ " Mikoto screeched. "They abused the poor girl!"

Hiruzen glared at Mikoto and growled right back, his chakra causing his authority to project.

"You don't think I don't know this?" he snarled. "I tried to assist Naru, hell I even tried to adopt her, but as her mother isn't dead, I can't!"

Silence reigned for several tense minutes before Naru finally made Hiruzen realise his slip-up. "W-What did you say, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen winced at Naru's tone – he certainly didn't mean to reveal this information so quickly or in the manner in which she found out, but it was too late for that now. "Your mother is still alive, Naru. You were stolen by Orochimaru when he faked your death when you were born."

Naru merely nodded and started to tear up. Hiruzen moved to comfort her, but Mikoto moved first. She consoled the distraught girl before eyeing the Hokage.

"Surely, this can wait until tomorrow?" Mikoto quietly asked – still soothing Naru. "Sasuke has informed me that Kakashi has given them tomorrow off to prepare for training with Kushina. I shall escort Naru to the hospital tomorrow."

Hiruzen pondered the suggestion before nodding. "Very well, but I shall have ANBU watching."

He turned his critical gaze to Naru and ordered the girl. "You will not attempt to flee and you will remain with Mikoto Uchiha until you are cleared by Tsunade. You are not permitted to kill anyone as my ANBU _will_ be watching. Furthermore an analysis on what has been done to you genetically will be performed, am I clear?"

Naru, who had reverted to her original personality merely nodded and accepted the help of the Uchiha Matriarch to stand. She then wordlessly moved to exit the training ground, leaving the two adults behind.

"You may wish to address Kakashi's teaching methods," Mikoto commented as she moved to leave. "He left Naru tied to the training post without support."

Hiruzen groaned and added it to his mental list, but his first destination was the Namikaze Compound.

 **..::..**

"Hiruzen, what are you doing here?" Kushina asked in confusion.

"Kushina," Hiruzen spoke in his 'Hokage' voice. "We need to talk, in fact, bring your son too, if he's home."

Kushina blinked, but nodded and called Kenji down. "I have heard reports of your interaction with one, Naru."

Kenji blinked and nodded with a scowl. "The girl was imitating my mother … stupid suck-up."

Kushina growled and swatted her son on the arm. "That was uncalled for, young man. So what if this Naru looked like me?"

"Everything about her is like you mum," Kenji whined. "Her aspirations and everything are the same, apart from not wanting to be Hokage."

That hit Hiruzen hard – after the sealing, she had wanted to become Hokage, just like her Oji-san.

"Wait … Naru, Naru … isn't that the girl that Orochimaru abducted?" Kushina asked. "I sealed her memories about that, right?"

Kenji gasped at the casual comment from his own mother. "A-Are you serious – you really sealed her memories?"

"And her power," Hiruzen added, warning Kushina with a glare. "But that is not why I'm here."

"Then _why_ are you here, Hokage-sama?" Kushina tilted her head in question.

"I'm here about what happened thirteen years ago," the Sandaime informed, ignoring how Kushina and Kenji both tensed. "It appears that … Kami this is difficult … it appears as though your unnamed daughter was alive after all."

Kushina hiccupped on a sob. "Please don't say such nonsense, old man. I held her lifeless body in my hands."

"I'm afraid that I'm deadly serious, Kushi-chan," the Sandaime replied – reverting to her childhood name. "We were deceived by Orochimaru – he held your daughter for six years … until she was recovered by my ANBU unit when we discovered Orochimaru's vile ambitions. Your daughter was recovered and treated for her many mental traumas … I …"

"I demand to see her," Kushina barked. "I demand to see my daughter!"

"You are interrupting, Kushi-chan," Hiruzen glared. "She was unable to completely recover from her unknown incarceration at his hands, and was then subsequently sealed … by you."

Kushina froze. 'I-I sealed my baby girl?'

"Wait, if Naru is the girl that kaa-chan sealed," Kenji put the pieces together. "Then the reason she looks like her … is that she's my sister!"

"You are correct, Kenji-san," the Sandaime acknowledged. "That is not all, however."

At Kushina's teary look, he continued. "Once sealed, she was given to the Konoha Orphanage. I am loathed to admit my failures … but they abused her there. I still don't know who, but someone on the council slipped the rumour that she was the reincarnation of the Kyuubi."

Kushina winced horribly. "But that would mean that the Village …"

"Yes," the Sandaime nodded. "The Village itself, mistreated her. She has not had the required nutrients that she needed for an aspiring Kunoichi, neither has she been educated correctly. It seems that several of the instructors are responsible for sabotaging her education."

Now Kenji felt really bad. He just automatically assumed she had been dieting and not paying attention, he knew that she'd never met him, but he _had_ read her file.

"There, I have informed you of her past … now to the present," the tired Hokage announced. "She was left alone and not helped on training ground seven after your team's test, Kenji. Naru was discovered by Mikoto Uchiha still tied to the post."

"And now we come to my being here," the Sandaime sighed. "The seal on her was broken tonight. There have been questions about the extent of Orochimaru's experiments on her genetically, as it appears that she has somehow been able to possess the Sharingan."

Kushina instantly stood and moved to leave. "Then knowing Mikoto, she'll be staying at her place until tomorrow."

"SIT DOWN," Hiruzen boomed. "Trying to approach her now is foolish, Kushina. Naru is still in shock over her awakening and her health has been called into question. If you reveal yourself now by charging in there, then she could shut down."

Kushina crumpled into her chair and started crying. Hiruzen was right, of course. Naru would have been too traumatized to accept her so freely.

"She will be at the hospital tomorrow," the Sandaime informed the shaky duo. "After she is comfortable with it … you will be granted the right to see her."

He bid the stunned Namikaze duo goodbye and left to do some paperwork.

 **..::..**

Sasuke Uchiha blinked in confusion when his mother returned home. For timidly standing behind her was his teammate Naru.

"Mother, why is Naru here?" Sasuke asked.

"She will be staying for some time, Sasuke," Mikoto responded. "There are … complications surrounding some things that have come to light this evening."

Sasuke grunted, he knew not to argue with his mother, and he wasn't blind to the incredibly protective stance that she had taken with his female teammate.

"Now, please show Naru to the guest quarters," Mikoto instructed.

"Follow me, Naru," Sasuke merely replied and moved down the hallway, only stopping to make certain that his oddly behaving teammate was indeed following him.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour, Naru-chan," Mikoto called after them, surprising the redhead.

Naru nodded in her subdued manner and resumed following her Uchiha teammate. When Naru surveyed the guest room that she'd be occupying, she almost cried. It was a beautifully traditional room, complete with tatami mats and a comfortable looking futon. Sasuke noticed her reaction and filed it away … he was feeling surprisingly protective of his teammate.

"Sorry, it's just a futon," Sasuke apologised. "The bed that the room had was too large, so mother had it removed."

"I-It's alright, Sasuke-san," Naru returned. "I am not used to this, is all."

"Not used to a futon?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head softly. "I'm not used to either a bed or a futon at all. I sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor of my single room apartment."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the revelation, and it showed on Naru's face, that she was being perfectly honest with him. As soon as Sasuke excused himself, he heard her sob. Something had happened, and he was going to make sure that Naru was going to be safe.

Dinner was an equally quiet affair, but Sasuke and Mikoto shared a pained look when Naru respectfully, but desperately ate the food before her with reckless abandon. It was now starting to alarm the young Uchiha at just how little he knew of his female teammate, and his sudden urge to protect her skyrocketed. Mikoto saw the fire in her son's eyes and smiled – this would be good for all of them.

Sasuke, on orders from his mother, escorted Naru to the bathing area and had to hold back a feral growl when he saw her eyes light up at the sight. True, their bathroom was exceptionally beautiful and traditional, but the look in her eyes was something that he would never forget – the sheer joy at seeing the bath and then the nervous apprehension when she was told that she was allowed to use the products in the room. Naru obviously had no knowledge on such things, and it was clear that her life was not as happy as she had once made him believe.

Panic and shock in equal measure coursed through him when Naru started to shed her clothing while he was still there, and it occurred to him that if she wasn't used to bathing, then the chances were that she didn't know about not stripping in front of a male. The next sight however, caused Sasuke to gag and shout for his mother.

The scars and needle-like marks that littered her back were faint, but there were bruises and wounds that looked fresh. When Mikoto burst into the room, Naru cowered as his shout had scared her, and she assumed that she was in trouble. Sasuke calmly watched his mother sooth the poor girl, and waited until he was out of the room until he snarled. Whoever was responsible for this would pay dearly – he now had no question in his mind that he _would_ protect his teammate.

 **..::..**

Naru's eyes fluttered open and she instantly sat up in her futon. She turned a curious glance to the door and narrowed them seconds later – someone was in the courtyard. She slowly stood and took an ornamental spear off the wall, before silently padding her way to the door that Sasuke had pointed to earlier, after her bath.

The nightgown borrowed from Mikoto was large on her tiny frame, but it was still modest. It swayed in the cool night air as she glanced at the fence across from her. Her eyes bled red and she took careful aim, before letting the spear fly. A pained scream echoed in the courtyard, and Mikoto and Sasuke both burst outside. A man with a Chunin flak jacket whimpered as he looked at his impaled shoulder.

"Lord Danzo didn't say that I would be hurt," the man muttered – his pain made worse when he tried to move – that meant that the spear was lodged in the wall behind him.

Mere moments later, two ANBU arrived on scene and grimaced at the Chunin. They knew that he would talk, and that meant that the Hokage would know that they had deliberately let the man through … after all, Danzo promised them all great riches and a possible promotion for the capture of the girl.

Naru watched the man whimper with cold indifference before spinning on her heel and moved to return to her temporary room.

"The Hokage said not to hurt anyone," one ANBU spoke up.

"No," Naru rebutted. "He said not to _kill_ anyone … and I have not."

Naru was shocked when Mikoto furiously looked her over for any injuries, all the time exclaiming that she was glad that she was alright. Naru tilted her head silently in confusion … the woman was … odd – at least in the way that she didn't understand the behaviour shown to her.

After the mother calmed down, Sasuke placed a soft hand on her shoulder and nodded in respect. Naru blinked but nodded back, before moving to her room.

'I miss my scythe,' Naru mused as she lay back down to sleep. 'Tomorrow they find out what my former master did to me … I just hope the nice Uchiha lady will still like me.'

 **..::..**

 **There we are for the newest idea. I hope it was decent enough for everyone, and I apologise for any errors. I know that some authors have done a Naruto with a Scythe before, but I hope I haven't gone too close to another's story. If by any conceivable chance I have, please inform me.**

 **..::..**

 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	9. Chapter 9 - Konoha's Girl of Steel

**..::..**

 **Okay, so, I was working on the next update for Red Eyed Master when I was interrupted by the doctors as they found something in my scans that wasn't good. So I was under bed rest and stuck watching television when I was introduced to a TV Series called Young Justice. It was surprisingly awesome, and it prompted me to have this idea getting stuck in my head.**

 **I hope it comes out okay, but please enjoy. :D**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO, WARNER BROS. OR DC COMICS.**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Orochimaru grinned as his serpentine gaze watched the baby suspended in the tank before him – the tube that provided air and the slight moving of its chest was the only thing that indicated the child was alive. The baby floated in some kind of bubbling green liquid that kept the child asleep.

"I can't believe how _easy_ it was to steal her from Konoha," a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes," Orochimaru responded. "My vengeance against Konoha will soon be complete, and _this_ child will be the instrument of their destruction … and Minato will be powerless to prevent it from happening."

"Lord Orochimaru," the voice continued. "Are you completely certain that you wish to continue with the experiment? Previous experiments proved … fatal."

"Yes, my dear Kabuto," Orochimaru hissed smoothly. "Even if it will be fatal to her, and likewise makes her body incapable of hosting me in the future – we will continue. If she proves to be the deciding factor in bringing positive results to our experiments, she will be nigh indestructible."

"And if she proves too difficult to control?" the now identified Kabuto inquired.

"Then we shall use the fragment of the meteor that we found along with the strange DNA in Uzu," Orochimaru easily replied. "It has been proven to subdue the DNA in its entirety, so we will simply fashion a device to keep her docile."

"As you command, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto bowed. "I shall begin the preparations at once; we can only hope it succeeds."

"Ku-Ku-Ku," Orochimaru chuckled. "You will be powerless against your own flesh and blood, Minato Namikaze."

 **..::..**

Orochimaru's scrutinising gaze analysed the young redhead as she slid under an attack aimed at her, before retaliating with a swift punch to her foe's chest. It sent her foe flying across the training room and through _four_ walls before coming to a halt with blood escaping their mouth.

"Excellent Naru-chan," Orochimaru praised – instantly the redhead was at her master's feet.

"Thank you for your praise, my Lord," the redhead's young voice exclaimed.

The girl was only six years old and possessed dark, blood-red hair that almost appeared black. Her hair was up in a simple high ponytail. She had a pale, porcelain-like complexion and deep, mesmerising blue eyes. Despite Orochimaru's attempts to genetically alter her appearance, she hadn't changed in the slightest since the fateful night when she was stolen from right under Konoha's noses, those six years prior.

For you see, in an attempt to improve the effects of his curse seals, he had travelled the perilous waters and swirls of the ocean to reach Uzu. Once there, he managed to force his way, almost dying several times in the process, to get inside a hidden chamber under what was left of the main Uzumaki Compound. Instead of finding the knowledge he sought so desperately, he found a tiny meteor fragment covered in blood.

Not looking to leave empty handed, Orochimaru tested the blood … it wasn't anything from their world. From what he could discern, the fragment had been called Kryptonite by the once known Uzumaki Tribe … long before the founding of the Hidden Villages. He immediately longed to discover the secrets of the DNA and began experimenting at once. Unfortunately, every attempt to integrate the blood resulted in complete failure.

Then he realised his error – he needed a fresh Uzumaki to have any chance of success. It wasn't long before his research on the lineage of the Uzumaki Royal Family led him to his old home: Konoha, and the home of the _only_ surviving _pure_ Uzumaki: Kushina Uzumaki – heiress to the throne of Uzu.

Now all he needed was access to the woman – except she was not only an S-Ranked Kunoichi … but she was the Nidaime Jinchūriki to the Kyuubi no Kitsune – the Nine-Tailed Fox.

In a stroke of luck, he discovered that the woman was pregnant with twins to his old nemesis and rival for Hokage: Minato Namikaze. Suddenly, all the pieces of his revenge fell into place … all he needed to do was wait for his moment to strike, for if _any_ of Kushina's children possessed the Uzumaki red hair, then that child would be pure enough to be used in the experiment.

During the birthing of the twins, complications arose as the eldest twin – a girl named Naru, was born with complications to her chakra network whilst the youngest twin – a boy named Kenji was completely healthy … why he didn't know, but he didn't care either … as the girl was born with the Uzumaki red hair.

Then the Kyuubi Attack happened. Kushina's seal was weakened enough to release the demon fox and it was left to Hiruzen to stall until Minato could reseal the beast. He watched in glee as Minato was prepared to sacrifice his life to seal the fox, when Hiruzen knocked the blonde out and completed the sacrifice himself. Hiruzen sealed the Yang Chakra into the youngest twin, whilst he resealed the Yin Chakra back into Kushina. Since Tsunade was on the scene to heal Kushina, she recovered and watched helplessly as the Sandaime (Third) Hokage died to save the village. While the Village was in mourning, it was child's play to have Kabuto infiltrate the hospital and steal the Uzumaki girl away, and by the time Konoha or her parents were aware of her disappearance … it was already too late.

Using the very last drop of what remained of the blood on the meteor fragment known as Kryptonite – he experimented on the child. He crowed victoriously when the baby not only survived the infusion … but thrived under it. Her readings were incredible, and through the foreign DNA, her chakra network repaired itself. His only regret was that any DNA extracted from the child afterwards to replicate the results proved futile and he was returned to his run of failures … so he stopped trying.

Instead, he used the genetic material provided by a silent partner of his to integrate a different kind of DNA into his creation … Uchiha Blood. He named the Project, Project: Supergirl. The integration was a resounding success and she surpassed all his expectations when she awakened the Sharingan – the Uchiha Clan's coveted Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit), not one week after his success.

Her Kryptonian DNA – as he'd started calling it – was potent enough to prevent the child from having negative reactions to the foreign DNA. Almost a year after her training increased, she awakened the secondary stage of the Sharingan, known as the Mangekyo Sharingan. His silent partner surprised the snake-like man when he presented the Hebi no Sannin (Snake Sage) with a complete set of Mangekyo Sharingan to transplant. Her readings went off the charts when she proved their theory correct and unlocked the famed and mysterious Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan or EMS for short.

His creation was absolutely perfect … until it happened. Soon after waking from the surgery and awakening the EMS, she started resisting his control. Somehow, she began to become immune to the Kryptonite's effects to suppress her godlike abilities. They were forced to use their failsafe plan by creating a circlet made of chakra metal to harness the strange power of the Kryptonite to supress her mind and keep her docile. Once in contact with her body, it took her resistance away and he returned to the obedient servant she once was.

So yes, his creation was perfect once under his control. So perfect in fact, that he attempted to take her body for his own, but unfortunately, as they predicted – her Kryptonian DNA blocked his attempts each and every time.

Orochimaru blinked to snap himself back to reality as he gazed once more at the kneeling redhead.

"Soon, my dearest Naru-chan," he hissed as he petted her hair. "Your new training begins today, and soon you will be the instrument of my vengeance and Konoha's destruction."

 **..::..**

 **-Ten Years Later-**

"Your invasion _will_ fail, Orochimaru," Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage growled as he dodged an otherwise fatal strike from the snake-like man. He used his famed **Hiraishin no Jutsu (Thunder Flying God Technique)** seconds later to sweep under an attack from the recently summoned form of the Nidaime (Second) Hokage before slapping a seal on the man to send his poor soul back to the death's realm.

Kushina and Jiraiya, who had taken on the Shodaime (First) Hokage and barely survived, appeared beside Minato and together they stood as tall as they could against the Snake Sannin.

"Oh, my dearest Jiraiya," Orochimaru snickered. "You're here too, how fortuitous for me … I can kill you as well."

"Enough," Jiraiya declared. "It's over, my old teammate."

"Ku-Ku-Ku," Orochimaru cackled. "Did you really think that I wouldn't have a back-up plan, my old friend?"

The three tensed as Orochimaru went through hand-seals at a blistering pace.

 **"** **Summoning Jutsu: Project SG,"** Orochimaru grinned.

Instead of a coffin, a girl appeared in a tank – an incredibly beautiful girl that looked exactly like a younger Kushina, except for her deep blue eyes.

"I-It can't be," Kushina stuttered with tears forming in her eyes.

"Ku-Ku-Ku, oh but it _is,_ " Orochimaru grinned sadistically. "Your _dearest_ daughter has returned to be the tool of your precious village's demise."

The tank hissed as it opened and Naru took a single step out into the fresh air. Her gaze analysed everything before her with a curious gleam.

"Naru-chan," Orochimaru got her attention. "Take flight and prepare for battle."

Naru hesitated, but the glowing green crystal on her circlet dimly lit up. Her eyes glazed slightly in response, before she began to float into the air – startling the onlookers. Minato and Kushina blinked in awe at their beautiful child.

Naru was undoubtedly stunning. She had a flawless porcelain-like complexion and regal features. Her eyes that remained their gorgeous blue caught the attention and stunned the onlookers who chanced a glance. She was dressed in black skin-tight pants that led to closed off shinobi sandals that reached her knees. An equally black, skin-tight sports bra/top that revealed her toned stomach to the world was all that protected her torso. Her dark red, almost black hair was done up in a high ponytail, that reached her lower back and blew gracefully in Konoha's breeze as Naru floated in mid-air. Her hands to her elbows were covered in opera styled fingerless gloves that were made from the same skin-tight fabric as the rest of her outfit, whilst a circlet made of chakra metal with a dimly glowing green crystal shaped in the Uzumaki Swirl adorned her forehead.

Kushina nodded to Minato and Jiraiya to get their attention and then gestured to the circlet. The men nodded in unison, knowing what she was implying. It only confirmed their suspicions when the crystal glowed a little brighter at Orochimaru's commands to their estranged child. Orochimaru watched the gestures and cursed – _of course_ they'd figure it out sooner rather than later … but it mattered little at this point.

"Naru, I order you to kill them," Orochimaru ordered with a victorious smirk. Naru resisted the order – why she didn't know, but the woman's chakra was familiar to her. The Kryptonite Circlet glowed and those thoughts disappeared instantly. Naru raised herself up in the sky whilst her eyes began to glow red.

Mere moments later, Minato flashed his sensei and wife away as red hot beams of energy was unleashed from Naru's eyes. It blew straight through the roof of where they were previously standing in an explosive manner. The trio gaped at the power, but quickly dodged as another soon followed. Naru narrowed her gaze and flew straight at Jiraiya – who had dodged further away from Kushina and Minato. It was only Jiraiya's honed senses from years of active duty that saved him as he leapt to the side to dodge the bullet that was Naru as she slammed straight into the roof. She didn't remain there for long as she too, dodged to the side as Minato flashed to where she was with a glowing Suppression Seal. He was too slow as Naru turned her head and blew icy wind at the blonde. Minato retreated to Jiraiya's side and rubbed his arm that had almost been frozen entirely.

Kushina scored a lucky strike as her **Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Chakra Chains)** wrapped tightly around the younger woman. Naru glared at Kushina and Kushina found herself gasping as Naru's eyes spun to become Sharingan.

"Kushina – Genjutsu (Illusionary Technique)!" shouted Jiraiya in warning.

Kushina instantly focussed her chakra to release the minor Genjutsu, but watched in shock as once the Genjutsu was released – a growling Naru _destroyed_ her chains by sheer force of strength.

Orochimaru watched the trio struggle as he began his preparations to retreat. He had underestimated the Konoha Shinobi and Kunoichi as they successfully drove back the combined forces of the Sand-nin and Oto-nin. The sudden burst of Bijuu Chakra was felt in the air and all the people present turned their gazes to the foreboding visage of the Ichibi no Tanuki, otherwise known as the One-Tailed Raccoon. Despite being considered the weakest of the Bijuu, the Ichibi was still a formidable foe.

"K-Kenji," Kushina whispered in fear.

Kenji had gone to defend that area of Konoha, and was right in the line of fire from the Raccoon. Their brief moment of distraction cost them dearly as Naru appeared right before them and sent Jiraiya flying with a monstrous punch that made Tsunade's punches seem like a love tap.

"Whoa," Minato exclaimed at the sight, before swiftly dodging her follow-up kick.

Orochimaru growled savagely. "Naru … I order you to stall them whilst I escape. If you survive this encounter, return to the main base."

Naru clenched her teeth as the Kryptonite prevented her to refuse the command.

"As you command, Lord Orochimaru," she intoned blankly – her attempts to resist were getting stronger and Orochimaru noticed, but before he could change the order, Minato intervened.

 **"** **Rasengan!"** Minato yelled as he struck the Circlet on Naru's forehead.

The Chakra metal absorbed the damage, but the Kryptonite shard was completely obliterated by the blow – the powdered remains destroyed by the wisps of chakra that still lingered. Naru blinked as control returned to her.

"W-What am I … no … where am I?" she questioned in confusion.

A confusion that Orochimaru capitalized on by signalling the retreat of the four people maintaining the barrier that surrounded the battlefield – Naru saw his retreating form and growled.

"I don't think so, snake," Naru spat.

She flew high into the air, before charging forward as her eyes glowed their ominous red as she prepared to use her heat vision. Naru unleashed said heat vision in a spectacular show of light as she snarled at the Snake Sannin. Orochimaru gritted his teeth in pain as the strike obliterated the use of his arms, but the man still managed an escape … one of his minions – not so much. The poor redheaded girl fleeing with Orochimaru was caught in the backlash of power and was knocked right into the path of oncoming ANBU – she was captured as she passed out.

Just as everything seemed to be settling down, a joyous shriek announced that the Jinchūriki of the Ichibi had relinquished his control over the demon and was free to rampage. A giant toad soon appeared to face the creature, but its attempts to put the Bijuu down were painfully weak against the beast. Naru ignored the calling of those trying to get her attention and instead took off at incredible speeds towards the two giants doing battle.

Those that were watching were in awe as a single blink saw the girl appear at the battle – surveying the scene with an analysing gaze that would've put Minato's 'Hokage face' to shame. She watched the blonde haired boy struggle with the toad and clutched her chest where her heart was.

'Why do I feel a connection to that boy?' Naru pondered – her Sharingan unconsciously activating to remember the boy. 'Come to think of it … those people on the roof … they looked familiar too, and their chakra resonates so peacefully with my own.'

She redirected her attention to the battle as the Bijuu seemed to _finally_ notice her presence.

 **"** **H-How is a** ** _pure-blooded_** **Uzumaki here?"** the Bijuu screamed. His scream drew the attention of those watching.

In one of the trees, a certain Uchiha gaped at the sight of a flying girl. He could feel the sheer power rolling off of her and felt a shiver go down his spine. "What a beautiful girl … who is she?"

The blonde haired boy on the giant toad gasped as he laid eyes on the floating girl. "K-Kaa-chan? N-No, it's not her, but s-she looks like her … who is she?"

The giant toad also gasped in shock and reverence. **'One has finally returned to the Elemental Nations … a pure-blooded Uzumaki.'**

Naru tilted her head at the people commenting on her appearance … her super hearing allowing her to listen to their own mutterings – but the blonde haired boy's comments startled her.

'I look like his mother?" she questioned mentally. 'That woman on the building … why do I feel so connected to this place?'

 **"** **Die!"** screamed the Bijuu as it unleashed a **Futon (Wind)** attack at the flying figure. Naru hummed and merely glided to the side – effectively dodging the attack with grace that royalty would kill to possess.

Naru didn't take kindly to the attack and swooped towards the terrified Bijuu. She sucked in a breath and unleashed her frost breath at the creature. The Ichibi screeched in pain as it found its lower half frozen to the ground. The Bijuu struggled to attack the flying girl, but couldn't hit her as she effortlessly glided around its frantic attacks.

Naru frowned as she saw the Bijuu begin to recover as her frost breath failed to completely subdue it.

"The boy on the Ichibi's head," interrupted the boy. "It's the weak-spot … wake Gaara up!"

Naru blinked at the boy, but otherwise obeyed. She shot off towards the sleeping redhead and used her super strength to punch the boy _through_ the Bijuu's body and into the ground. The shock woke the boy and the Ichibi screamed murder as he dissolved once more into Gaara's seal.

"Woohoo, you did it!" the blonde boy cheered loudly as he released his summon from battle, and Naru found herself giggling softly at the boy's excitement.

Naru smiled softly as she gracefully floated to where Gaara had been literally knocked unconscious. Minato flashed into the area using a seal placed on Kenji, and inspected the Ichibi Jinchūriki.

"Hmm, that won't do at all," he muttered. "Jiraiya-sensei … please prepare the sealing chamber … we'll fix this seal once and for all."

The large, white-haired man nodded seriously and sped off towards the village to do as ordered. Tsunade appeared soon after and checked the people over, cautiously avoiding the girl in black that looked too much like Kushina.

"Pleased to meet you," Minato bowed – barely holding back his tears as he saw identical blue eyes meet his own. "I am Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage … and you are?"

Naru stared at the man … his chakra soothed her beating heart, and he looked so familiar. It had been a side-effect of the integration of her Kryptonian DNA that she could remember and recall everything since the time of her birth … except she couldn't quite place the man.

"Naru," she eventually replied. "Orochimaru only ever addressed me as Naru."

A gasp got her attention and her gaze drifted to the blonde haired boy. "B-But that means that you're m-my …"

"Kenji, that's enough," Minato ordered. "I can tell that she doesn't remember."

"Pardon … remember what exactly?" Naru inquired with a head tilt.

Before Minato could stop him, Kenji blurted out: "That you're my twin sister … Naru Uzumaki-Namikaze!"

Naru blinked several times before slowly moving her gaze to the others assembled … she repeated the action several times before merely responding with an "Oh."

She proved that she was still human by fainting.

"Oh dear," Minato sighed tiredly, before glaring at Kenji. "That's why I didn't want you to tell her."

"S-Sorry Tou-chan," Kenji stuttered.

"It can't be changed now," Tsunade interjected. "Let's just get her to the Hospital … luckily it wasn't damaged too badly in the Invasion."

 **..::..**

 **That's it for this concept chapter. I don't know if I managed to draw you in, but hopefully I did. I shall resume my work on Red Eyed Master now … that is assuming that I don't get another idea stuck in my head ne?**

 **..::..**

 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	10. Chapter 10

**..::..**

 **On the recommendation of several peeps, I finally watched RWBY … and I fell in love with the series. Some readers mentioned that my scythe wielding female Naruto was like Ruby, but I disagree. Ruby is far more outgoing and energetic than my female Naruto character. Anyhow … this story** ** _is_** **inspired by RWBY in a way. I'm using a similar style to Yang for Naruto … just without the gauntlets.**

 **I hope you enjoy, and please know that I am working on other stories too, but I needed a break from struggling to find the right words for them. As you may have noticed, I am finally free from my hospital/prison but I may return if I don't respond well to the medication.**

 **Depressing stuff over … please enjoy.**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR RWBY.**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Naruto hissed in pain as the location in which Orochimaru had struck him with his strange jutsu throbbed painfully. In fact it seemed to be growing in intensity and he gripped the railing of the arena tightly to contain his cries as it only continued building. Then, as the burning agony he was in was truly unbearable, just as his whimpers were noticed by Kurenai Yuhi – the Jounin Leader for Team 8 – they vanished, leaving Naruto to breathe in a deep lungful of precious oxygen as he looked to the board.

KIBA INUZUKA vs NARUTO UZUMAKI, it read.

Naruto didn't know it, but eyes were on him as soon as he'd hissed in pain. Not because he looked scared, but because those who were watching him could sense the sheer potency of his chakra deepen to unfathomable levels. Of those watching – the Sandaime Hokage watched in horror as Naruto's chakra signature was mutating without the boy even knowing what was happening. He spied the gaze of Kurenai Yuhi watching the boy closely and he knew she could sense it too. A wandering gaze swept over those present and he noticed only two other people keenly watching the blonde's internal transformation: a girl from Kusa with astonishingly red hair – Uzumaki Red Hair – and the Kazekage's son Gaara Subaku.

When Naruto finally ceased whimpering in pain and raised his head, the Sandaime (Third) stood up from his seat in shock – startling those watching next to him – for instead of Naruto's deep cerulean eyes watering with lingering pain, there was, for a single moment, two different eyes there in the place of their ordinary shade.

His eyes had paled and become cloudy, but there was still the lingering blue of his original eyes. Hiruzen was reminded of the Byakugan of the Hyūga Clan from the almost blind appearance of the eyes. Hiruzen then gasped inaudibly as they shifted to a hauntingly eerie shade of pale red that were empowered by chakra. As quickly as they appeared, they faded and it left Hiruzen wondering if he'd imagined it … a single glance at Kurenai had him faintly realise that he hadn't imagined it, for she noticed his eyes as well.

Kurenai felt as though someone had just punched her in the stomach as her gaze alternated between the board, Naruto and then to Kiba. Kiba crowed proudly and loudly that he would _effortlessly_ defeat the _dead last,_ but then Naruto's eyes reverted as he carefully walked down the stairs into the arena – he stumbled on the last step and she was then shocked when _no one_ bothered to find out if he was okay.

'I know that he's the Jinchūriki of the Kyuubi,' she thought – feeling sick once more. 'And that he's the 'dead-last' … but his own classmates aren't even concerned about him … except for Hinata – but she's obsessed with him.'

Naruto shakily stood – still clutching his stomach and she saw Hiruzen narrow his gaze. 'Is there something wrong – why is he holding his stomach … is he injured?'

"Begin," Hayate announced … and Kiba snarled as he charged.

 **..::..**

Naruto narrowly dodged Kiba's clawed strike, but failed to dodge Akamaru – Kiba's nin-ken (Ninja Hound) as the puppy sunk his teeth into Naruto's leg. Naruto hissed as his stomach throbbed once more, and tears threatened to fall when the added pain of Akamaru's bite was added.

"Damnit, Damnit, and DAMNIT!" the blonde cursed loudly. "Why isn't my Chakra responding? Oh wait, I know – I was struck by that weird jutsu from Orochimaru – but Kakashi- _sensei_ can't be bothered to check on _anyone_ other than his _precious_ protégé: Sasuke Uchiha."

"Damnit man, Orochimaru sealed me too!" Naruto didn't realise it, but _everyone_ could hear him as he whimpered the last statement. The Sandaime wasn't the only one that narrowed their gaze at the mention of one of Konoha's greatest traitors, and the Sandaime rubbed his chin in thought.

"Kakashi only mentioned that Sasuke was sealed by my traitorous ex-student," the Sandaime muttered to himself.

Koharu and Homura, his ex-teammates and advisors heard him and glanced at each other before Koharu responded to their leader in a whisper. "We will need to tread carefully … I can't sense the beast's chakra in the boy any longer, and we can't do anything until we know the true Naruto is back."

"Agreed," Homura added to the conversation. "If the other Villages caught wind of the fact that we may have a Jinchūriki with a faulty seal … then we would be vulnerable to an attack – be that political or physical ... if Naruto is back to his former self - then we can salvage this effortlessly."

In Naruto's whimpers, he failed to see – or dodge – Kiba's **Fang over Fang** Technique until it had hit him point blank to the head.

"Hah," Kiba mocked loudly. "Give up _dead last_ or at least put up a decent fight."

To Naruto's shock – and the shock of Kurenai and Asuma – who had just returned from the bathroom – other onlookers were nodding in agreement to the Inuzuka's declaration – even his own classmates.

"Hah, blondie is pathetic," they heard the Suna boy covered in makeup laugh – only to be shocked by the red-head Jinchūriki.

"Kankuro, you will be silent," Gaara hissed menacingly. "Or I _will_ do more than just _kill_ you … family or not."

Kankuro and Temari gasped at their brother … he had never sound so … so dangerous before – and that was saying a lot since he was always dangerous enough already.

'Oh dear,' thought the red-head from Kusa. 'These fools have _no_ idea what's coming … I can sense his approaching awakening … he really _is_ as we suspected!'

"Fuck," Kiba laughed in pity. "I can see why you have no family now, _Clanless loser._ They're shamed by having you mar their Clan's name!"

It was then that _something_ snapped deep inside the dark places of Naruto's mind and soul. Years of the negativity and hatred aimed at him fuelled the feeling as it flowed through his veins like an inferno of power. Naruto felt the world slow to a halt as he felt his mind drift internally and it was then that deep within him – deeper than most thought possible, he became aware of a woman standing at a crossroad – alone in the darkest place in his mind.

She was tall, with wild blonde hair – much like his own shorter blonde hair, but there was what looked like a dark, vindictive grin on her otherwise beautiful face. The woman snapped her fiery gaze to meet Naruto's own shocked gaze, and he noticed that it wasn't actually a dark grin, but a grin of pure confidence and power. The woman's eyes were cloudy at first, but that changed when they suddenly glowed a bright red that illuminated the darkness.

"Well _finally,_ " the woman chuckled playfully. "You're back … I was wondering how much longer I'd have to wait in this creepy place for your return."

The world brightened considerably as she reached her slim arm out to grasp his own outstretched hand – when had he reached for her hand? Her presence was warm and inviting as she brought him into a careful embrace. "Your energy reminds me so much of my younger sister, Naruto. It was her that helped start the Uzumaki Clan, whilst I was the beginning of the Namikaze Clan … but … you don't remember me, do you?"

"I-I think," Naruto croaked as he soaked in her presence like a child to their mother. "I-I think I'm remembering … you, you hugged me like this before, didn't you? I remember this feeling of warmth … it got me through the nightmares."

The blonde smiled sadly at Naruto and tightened her hug around his thin form. "Yes, we have met before little Naruto, but we were separated by the one eyed man that isn't as he appears."

"Huh?" the boy questioned.

The woman giggled at his confused expression. "Yup, easily confused by riddles too … just like my little sister, but I digress. You need to awaken now Naruto."

The warmth of the woman engulfed his form and he was assaulted by memories of their time together … her presence there when he was left beaten and mentally broken by the villagers, and the memories of her training. Everything they shared … every moment was restored to him, along with the negative emotions.

"It isn't healthy to forget the bad things," she smiled sadly once more. "But remember what I told you?"

"Yes," Naruto blinked. "Channel that anger to my fists, not to my mind."

"Very good," she replied with a pet to his head. "I have to go now, Naruto. I was already fading from your memory, but the only good thing that man ever did was help me to help you this one last time."

"Never forget my teachings," the blonde grinned once more – a grin that matched his own. "Give them hell, little lion."

As she faded, Naruto pouted as he replied. "Don't call me that, Yang-nee-chan."

They shared one last hug before she disappeared and he felt his mind return to his body.

 **..::..**

"Come on, man," Kiba whined to the Proctor. "He's not responding … call it already."

Kiba and his graduating classmates gasped in shock, and silence gripped the arena as Naruto suddenly lurched forward as if punched in the stomach.

The proctor – Hayate – who used to be on Naruto's protection detail started to sweat as power flooded the arena. "I-I've felt this power before, but where is it coming from?"

Likewise, Hiruzen and his advisors shivered when the power washed over them. 'He's back to normal … before he changed that fateful day!'

The trio had always suspected foul play in Naruto's sudden change in personality, but could never prove it, and without Jiraiya on hand to inspect the child for extra seals … they couldn't check Naruto for tampering.

"F-Fuck you Kiba," Naruto laughed.

The Inuzuka snarled and charged towards the formally short haired blonde. Only for Kiba to feel a soft hand grasp his arm before he found himself flung across the room. Then he gasped again as Naruto changed before everyone's eyes. All those watching – particularly the Clan Heirs/Heiresses narrowed their gazes as they saw Heritage Seals glow an angry red and illuminate Naruto's entire body. Only those proficient in Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques) recognised as Orochimaru's **Gogyō Fūin (Five Pronged Seal)** joined the Heritage Seals – a highly illegal seal – and acted like a sort of key by shattering all the visible seals on Naruto.

Only the Hokage and his advisors noted that the seal of the Kyuubi no Kitsune (Nine Tailed Fox) was missing entirely.

A shockwave of sheer power exploded from the blonde as he grinned a familiar grin – a grin that the Hokage and his advisors teared up over. The power only continued to rise in level and began to swirl around him – completely and impossibly _visible_ to those watching in morbid fascination … the Jounin from other village's sweating at the power – how had a child of _this_ power go unnoticed by their spies?

Meanwhile … those in the village shuddered as they too, felt the power coming from the centre of the famed Forrest of Death. Birds shrieked and fled the safety of their perches as they flew away from the power as quickly as they could … silence was all that remained after they were gone.

Back in the Tower, Naruto sluggishly stood from inside the vortex of power. His wounds healed instantly as a growing laughter of freedom and joy escaped his throat. His hair grew and whipped wildly around in the power. It looked like the golden mane of a lion – as wild and defining as the proud creature itself.

His laughter grew until it was a crescendo of sound, enhanced by potency of the power swirling around his changing form. His baby fat melted away to leave soft, prominent features and creamy pale skin tone that enhanced his softer features. His eyes lightened to the same pale blue that briefly flashed before the fight and then, with the excited feel to the power … they changed to a softly glowing pale red before reverting to their pale blue. On the balcony, both Hinata and Neji gasped as they witnessed a mutated form of the Byakugan appear on the face of the 'dead last'.

'I-Impossible,' they both thought – unaware of their identical thoughts. 'Our connection was to the Namikaze Clan … not the Uzumaki … wait! That means that Naruto-san/Naruto-kun is a Namikaze and the last Namikaze was … he's the son of Minato Namikaze – the Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage!'

Naruto let out a cute little yawn as the power suddenly vanished – leaving the onlookers with a look at the final changes in the blonde's appearance. His body, like his face, was now softer and even appeared delicate and feminine – his already baggy jumpsuit now appeared even larger on his feminine body.

Naruto stretched like a cat and clenched his fists together as he glanced to them.

"How odd," he spoke – even his voice was softer and delicate. "My eyes feel different … and I can see weird spots on everyone's bodies."

Naruto giggled as he looked around the room before he noticed his overly large and baggy orange jacket. "Why is my jacket larger than I remember?"

He instantly shed the orange monstrosity, remaining in his still too large black t-shirt. It showed too much of his new soft, creamy skin, but he didn't care as he stretched once more. He frowned at his too long pants and huffed in annoyance. He wasted no time and felt no shame in ripping the legs off, leaving him in rough orange shorts as opposed to the pants they once were. To finish his personal changes, he slipped off his sandals and groaned in delight as the cool stone met his feet.

"Oh, _much_ better," he purred. "I can fight much more effectively like this."

Naruto turned to face the Hokage and his advisors and waved playfully at them. The Hokage and Koharu smiled fondly, whilst Homura pretended to be unaffected by the sweet gesture.

"Ne, shall we fight properly now, Kiba?" Naruto asked with a head tilt.

Kiba grinned and nodded. "You're still going to lose Uzumaki!"

Naruto frowned at Kiba. "It's actually Uzumaki-Namikaze, but whatever … your ass is mine dog-breath."

Several sharp intakes of breath followed the exclamation, but the two competitors ignored them for their fight. As the two prepared to fight once more, Naruto spotted Akamaru and smiled at the puppy. If dogs could blush, then Akamaru was certainly doing so, but it was the power behind Naruto that had the nin-ken on edge.

"Don't blink, Kiba," Naruto giggled.

The Inuzuka didn't understand the statement until his opponent _vanished_ in a burst of speed and appeared before him with a fist cocked back. Kiba choked on his spit as all that was heard was a sonic-boom sound … almost like an explosion. It was then that Kiba's torso registered pain … it felt as though an exploding tag had been detonated in his stomach and chest simultaneously. Naruto's deceptively dainty fist was planted firmly where Kiba's chest _used_ to be in an uppercut motion, and it was only after that realisation that Kiba also felt himself airborne … flying at incredible speeds one moment and then into the wall the next.

Kiba was out cold before he even reached the wall. Naruto pouted cutely and whined at the quick fight.

"YOOOOOOUTH," was shouted from above, in the balcony and Naruto beamed at the source. "Gai-sensei … Lee-san!"

Those that gaped at the display missed the split second it took for Naruto to materialize by their side and join in a group hug. "I missed you both _sooooo_ much!"

They all cried animatedly until Neji coughed, approached and then bowed. "Uzumaki-Namikaze-sama … I think you need to meet with Hiashi-sama as soon as you –"

"That won't be necessary," a voice echoed. "I am already here … a pleasure to meet you again, Naruto."

"Hiashi-chan," Naruto cheered and hugged the man.

Hinata then fainted and Neji felt faint as Hiashi beamed at the blonde with happiness.

 **..::..**

 **Ta-Dah! Chapter complete … please let me know what you think. If I ever formally write this story, the chapter will be expanded on, but this'll do ne?**

 **..::..**

 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	11. Chapter 11 - Uzu's God of War

**..::..**

 **So here we are for another of my crazy ideas. I'm still working on recreating the chapters for several stories after the demise of my laptop and all my data, but my enthusiasm is practically non-existent.**

 **Please be patient. That said,** ** _please_** **do me a courtesy by** ** _not_** **demanding that I update. I have received several PMs demanding that I do so. I won't name the peeps that have done it, for you know who you are, but I won't encourage you to continue.**

 **I don't care for your threats at this point. With all my data gone, I have no problems in leaving it that way and walking away from Fan Fiction all together.**

 **This idea, believe it or not, came from re-watching movies that I've enjoyed. The only reference is a weapon and skills surrounding that weapon, but that's all. The movie in question is … Troy. I loved the books the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer, and I loved the movie.**

 **So I'm going with the usual 16 years old graduation point, with the Clan Heirs being 15 years old. You'll read that Naruto failed his second attempt at the Graduation Exam, but I'm going to explain the age skip in the story in the next chapter - if I update.**

 **Please enjoy the chapter.**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR TROY.**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Naruto Uzumaki grumbled as he walked down the dusty road to his small apartment in the Red Light District in Konoha. He'd just failed in his second attempt to pass the Genin Exam, and he was starting to feel a feeling that he hadn't ever felt before: defeat. In Naruto's life, he'd never once felt the desire to give up or surrender to the hand that Kami seemed to have laid out for him, but that resistance was now all but gone. The sheer negativity that he tried so strongly to ignore had finally worn him down and he was at a loss on how to continue.

'Does this mean I have no future as a Shinobi?' he thought – his depression at an all-time high. 'I mean, I _know_ that they're sabotaging my education, but even so …'

He was starting to delve deeper into his despair when a familiar, but bored voice brought him back to reality.

"Everything on the table is 90% off," the entirely too bored voice called. "Get a great bargain today, courtesy of the Emporium."

Looking towards the source of the voice – Naruto came face to face with a plain, but still beautiful young lady with deep brown eyes ad equally dark hair styled into twin buns.

"T-Tenten?" he croaked. Tenten had been one of two students to _ever_ associate with him in the Ninja Academy, and the only girl that had ever been nice to him – he could safely say that she was his first ever crush. Though with time, Naruto came to feel something akin to familial love to the brown eyed girl.

"N-Naruto?" she responded in shock – before surprising the blonde haired boy by hugging him tightly – earning a blush from the boy. "I haven't seen you since the Academy Exam. It's completely unfair that Mizuki-sensei failed you on the **Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)** again. You have entirely too much Chakra for it."

"Yeah," Naruto replied quietly – his cheeks still pink from the warm feeling in his stomach. "But they don't teach other **Bunshin** techniques at the Academy."

Tenten winced at the reminder. "Yeah, maybe my dad can help you though?"

"I doubt your father can help," Naruto muttered bitterly. At Tenten's slight glare, he reiterated. "I mean, it's illegal outside of Clan Training to educate an Orphan unless determined by a Clan or by Apprenticeship."

Tenten sighed in thought. "That's only Jutsu training though, Naruto. I'm sure my dad can point you in the right direction, at least."

Naruto's eyes brightened slightly. "You really think so?"

"Yup, I know so," Tenten responded with a resolute nod. With that, Naruto and Tenten spent the next half hour discussing Naruto's problems with Jutsu and his apparent lack of control – despite the Chakra Control Techniques that the Academy educated them with. The entirety of Naruto's problems had Tenten frowning about the whole predicament.

"This is _totally_ unfair to _you,"_ Tenten declared hotly – earning another warm feeling in Naruto's chest at the defensive nature that Tenten displayed on _his_ behalf.

Her enraged declaration drew the attention of her father, Han. He'd heard some of their discussion, but after a complete retelling from his daughter – Han's frown proved the two related.

"Well there's nothing you can do but to appeal to the Sandaime (Third) Hokage for assistance," Han commented as he analysed the Jinchūriki (Power of Human Sacrifice) before him. The boy was thin – too thin his paternal instincts told him, and his long, wild blonde hair was only in its state to lack of care – likely due to no one properly educating the boy. The boy's thin, scrawny body also explained his short stature, as the lack of nutrition his body was suffering from.

'Minato was taller at this boy's age,' Han thought – oh yes, he knew about the boy's true identity as he could see the plain resemblance of his ex-teammate and secret wife Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze in the boy.

"I have appealed to Oji-san," Naruto replied in a small voice – intimidated by the large man's intense gaze. "He doesn't believe me and mutters about me being lazy."

Han instantly relaxed his gaze at Naruto's reaction, but kept them narrowed as both he and his daughter hummed in thought. Han then suggested something that would forever change Naruto's life.

"Then pick a weapon," Han proposed.

"Oh – great idea, dad," Tenten exclaimed. "Then we can train with Naruto and since it's not Jutsu – it won't be illegal to do so."

Naruto hesitated – something that both father and daughter noticed. Tenten smiled encouragingly at Naruto – she had always felt that he deserved more than the way he was treated, and she often found her thoughts drifting to the boy – always wondering if he was eating properly or getting enough sleep. Tenten wondered if that was what it was like to have a younger brother.

"Y-You're serious, aren't you?" Naruto questioned in shock.

"Absolutely," Tenten beamed. "I'm always serious when it comes to weapons and training!"

That had Naruto chuckling softly. 'Yep, same old Tenten – please don't ever change.'

 **..::..**

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage frowned into his Crystal Ball. He'd been watching Naruto closely since he failed the Exam, as he genuinely worried for his surrogate grandson's mental health. The boy had been on the receiving end of so much negativity that it was a miracle from Kami that he hadn't snapped already!

His frown became a soft smile as he interacted freely with his Academy friend Tenten – a young girl that he'd forever be thankful for, for befriending Naruto. His frown returned when they discussed his problems and it left the Hokage wondering.

'I know that Naruto is hiding an incredible intelligence under his façade,' Hiruzen hummed. 'But to pinpoint _every_ flaw in his education is something I have not seen since Minato attempted to overhaul the Academy's Shinobi Program.'

Hiruzen continued to watch and felt an intense guilt ripple through him as Naruto pointed out that he _had_ appealed to him. 'I thought he was just being lazy, but now that I know what an amazing intelligence he's hiding … I know he's not. I should have seen it sooner with his Uzumaki DNA.'

The Sandaime vowed to teach him a more extensive technique.

His eyes sparkled when Han and Tenten suggested a weapon and Hiruzen nodded in approval – it was an excellent idea as all prominent Uzumaki and Namikaze Warriors had learned to use a weapon or two.

'I wonder what weapon he will choose,' Hiruzen pondered.

He felt his eyes widen before panic set in at as his surrogate grandson became mesmerised by the weapon of his choice. He instantly leapt to his feet and alerted the nearby ANBU as they all suddenly felt Naruto's unmistakably dense chakra skyrocket – mere moments later, they were speeding towards the source of the Chakra.

'How in Kami's name did one of _those_ weapons get into Konoha?' he feared the answer to his silent question.

 **..::..**

Naruto's nervous gaze shifted from Han to Tenten, and then to the offered weapons on the table. There were weapons of all shapes and sizes, and Tenten wasted no time at all in describing them in great detail, along with explaining their various uses, positives and negatives. Her voice became distorted and eventually faded as his blue eyes landed on a single, large object that leaned against the table, wrapped in an aged, dirty cloth. He felt a soft tug on his Chakra and mind and his eyes became glassy and then, without even thinking about the consequences – he picked the object up.

Naruto marvelled at the feel of the object, and removed the cloth from said item. The form of a blackened shield that held a golden tint shone in the evening light as it was revealed. On the back of the shield, where one would hold the shield, was a sheath attached with a blade sheathed inside. The shield was light, but something told Naruto that it was far from delicate. The shield was circular, but not an exact circle as there were two graceful curves cut out from either side – something that revealed the sheathed sword on one side. Ironically, the beautifully formed curves were also circular in design. Mesmerised by the odd design, Naruto caressed the light material. It felt like hardened leather, but the golden tint on the blackened surface indicated chakra metal augmentation, whilst the intricate designs that depicted warriors in strange armour battling hid multitudes of master level Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques). **[AN1]**

'Wait, how did I know that?' Naruto clenched his eyes shut as the feeling of intense pain suddenly attacked his mind.

Fighting through the pain, he was still unable to tear his eyes away from the mysterious sword and shield. Naruto unknowingly shifted the shield with expert ease with his left arm and moved to grip the sword's hilt with his right hand. He was so entranced by the sudden humming in mis mind that he could no longer hear _anything_ else … so it came to no surprise that he couldn't hear Han desperately calling for him to stop from removing the sword from its sheath.

Oblivious to the outside world – Naruto pulled the blade free with a smooth, fluid motion that caused the blade to hiss … proving its lethal nature.

Almost immediately following the blade's release, it grew hot in his grip but try as he might, Naruto was unable to let go. Something began to probe his mind and chakra – he felt it deep in his mind and body – painfully analysing his thoughts, memories, fears, aspirations and chakra.

It was judging him.

With a pained scream, Naruto's chakra retaliated against the intruder and skyrocketed in power – blowing back the table covered in weapons. Tenten, Han and several unfortunate onlookers that were too close to the blonde haired boy, were caught in it as Naruto tore his vocal chords apart by screaming loudly in fear and pain. Tears of blood escaped his eyes, nose and ears as he bared his teeth – screaming to the heavens. His long, dirty hair whipped wildly around his head as the very earth surrounding him was torn apart. The earth cracked and began to rise around his form.

Dark, angry seals became prominent in the light of an impossible sight … his chakra had become _so_ dense that it had become _visible_ to everyone watching the scene in morbid, horrified fascination. Naruto's screams grew louder as blood escaped his mouth – showing those watching that the blonde was indeed tearing his throat apart by the scene in front of them.

The dark, angry seals shattered, sending another wave of chakra outward.

But then … Naruto's screams died and his usually carefree gaze shifted to the Sandaime Hokage as he appeared on the scene. Those that truly knew Naruto instantly noticed that his eyes had narrowed and now shone with a deadly glint. The chakra surrounding Naruto stopped spiralling out of control and seeped back into the boy's body – thus causing the earth to return to the cracked and destroyed earth surrounding him. The calm had everyone sighing in relief as the ambience of the village was restored.

Then it went south as a Chūnin decided that it was the perfect time to put the Jinchūriki down once and for all.

The Chūnin moved without his Hokage's orders with a kunai raised to kill. Tenten screamed for Naruto to move, but it was the Chūnin that was totally unprepared for what happened next. In a single and entirely _too_ fluid a motion, the Chūnin found his throat sliced open by the blade in Naruto's hand. Now completely visible to those watching, they noticed that the blade was an incredible golden colour that now dripped with the dead Chūnin's blood. The blade, like the shield curved gracefully on itself and was intricately decorated. **[AN2]**

 **..::..**

Han almost laughed when Naruto's gaze landed on the old sword and shield that had somehow evaded purchase since his great, great grandfather brought the bloody things home to Konoha. His ancestor had become obsessed with studying and learning everything to do with the sword and shield … well the shield anyway, as no one could remove the blade from its sheath.

'Come to think of it,' Han thought with confusion. 'No one knew just where he got them, and he never told the family how he got it either.'

Han was ripped from his thoughts as an incredible dense chakra descended upon the immediate area. Han shuddered violently under the pressure. 'W-What is happening?'

Han instantly narrowed his gaze and honed in on the only possible source: Naruto. Said boy had been frozen for several minutes now with a blank stare aimed at the sword and shield. Tenten then shrieked in fear of Naruto's health and safety as they bore witness to the blood escaping his eyes, nose and ears. Han was instantly on guard as he spotted at least half of the Village's Shinobi and Kunoichi were now on edge – watching Naruto's smaller form

"What is happening, Han?" Hiruzen's voice shouted over Naruto's screaming.

Han jumped and turned a fearful gaze to meet the hardened glare of his leader, the Sandaime Hokage.

"Han," Hiruzen growled. "Would you care to explain to me how my surrogate grandson got a hold of a Namikaze Relic?"

That revelation earned several sharp intakes of breath from those watching on … none more so than a blonde haired woman watching more in fascination than the fear displayed by the civilian populace. Her glare landed on the Sandaime, who instantly winced when he noticed her murderous look.

'Oh dear,' Hiruzen groaned. 'Of all the people to hear that … it had to be Minato's secret sister.'

"N-Now that you mention it," a civilian could be heard. "Doesn't he look eerily similar to the Yondaime (Fourth) Hokage?"

"You're right!" another declared. "It's scary how identical they look … how did we not know this?"

Several more conversations broke out and all of them revolved around the child.

'They've all noticed,' Hiruzen swallowed. 'By tomorrow the rest of the Elemental Nations will know.'

The Chakra dispersed and all it left was a deadly gaze that had everyone shivering … it was exactly the same as Minato's 'Hokage Face' … making the boy look even more like his father. Then a Chūnin moved to kill the boy, and everyone tensed. However, before anyone could intercept the idiot Chūnin, Naruto moved with such deadly grace that it put some ANBU to shame by slicing the man's throat open. The blade in his hand actually sang as it sliced through the air and then the Chūnin's throat.

Silence then ensued the area as Naruto warily eyed the various Shinobi and Kunoichi in the immediate vicinity – prepared for any further retaliation. Tenten carefully approached the blonde – all the while making soothing noises.

"Naruto," Tenten soothed. "Please come back to us. You know that I wouldn't lie to you … no one will try to hurt you … just please come back."

Naruto eyed Tenten but moved sluggishly by sheathing the sword and dropping his guard. Tenten smiled and carefully hugged the boy – who huffed tiredly but cautiously returned the embrace. Tenten felt her heart melt when Naruto whispered: "Onee-chan."

Naruto fell asleep in her arms.

 **..::..**

Mebuki Haruno was _furious._ Minato's last will and testament clearly stated that if Jiraiya: The Gama (Toad) Sage was unable to care for Minato's then unnamed son, then she would assume the responsibility of raising the boy. On that fateful night when her dearest brother and his wife surrendered their souls to the Shinigami (Death God) to seal the Kyūbi no Kitsune (Nine-Tailed Fox) – she went to check on her nephew, only to be told that he perished.

Foolishly she believed them, and went about her way to raise her precious daughter Sakura. When Sakura told her that she had befriended the Jinchūriki, she was proud – as she had complete faith in her brother's Fūinjutsu. That pride didn't last as Sakura ruthlessly crushed the boy's heart when she joined the crowd to publically persecute the boy. Mebuki never saw the boy's face, but he remembered his cries when she overheard her daughter berating him one day. She wanted to calm the boy, but he'd fled. Sakura had been grounded for months after that, but she still continued to follow the crowds for a while longer. Then one day, Sakura stopped but the damage was done, and Naruto stayed as far away from Sakura as he could.

And only _now_ did she discover the depths of the lies against her Family and Clan – she demanded answers.

Upon arriving at the hospital, as they'd taken Naruto there, she sent a single raised brow in Hiruzen's direction … the man caved.

"Mebuki," Hiruzen sighed. "Please understand that we couldn't allow anyone to adopt him for fear of shifting the power of Konoha."

"Bullshit," Mebuki hissed. "The Namikaze were never a Konoha Clan and the Haruno Family is a First Generation Clan by honour only … therefore your arguments are null and void."

Hiruzen paused at the rebuttal … Mebuki was right – not to mention Minato's will.

"Your bloody council can go screw themselves, as I _will_ be taking guardianship over my nephew," Mebuki declared. "If you can't control your _own_ council, then perhaps Minato made a mistake in reinstating you."

Hiruzen glared at Mebuki but didn't argue. "I admit to making several mistakes in regards to Naruto-kun, Mebuki, but I can't just let you take guardianship of him."

"Then I'm sorry, Hokage-sama," Mebuki bowed sarcastically. "But I shall be taking my claim to the _Daimyo,_ who I'm sure will be _most_ interested in Konoha's treatment of not only the Namikaze Heir – Clan or not … but the last of the _Royal Family_ of Uzu."

Hiruzen instantly gasped. "H-How do you know about his ties to the Royal Family?"

"Kushina told me, Sarutobi-sama," Mebuki replied. "So here are your options … grow a bloody pair and take control of your Village … or I shall take my claims to the Fire Daimyo's Court and supersede your authority."

The Sandaime gaped at Mebuki before he sighed – trust a Namikaze to call him out. 'Still, if it wasn't going to be a Namikaze – then it would've been an Uzumaki if they still lived.'

"You're right, Mebuki," Hiruzen finally spoke – breaking the silence. "Naruto-kun deserves to be raised by his Kin. Besides, since he's bonded with a Namikaze Clan Relic – it's imperative that he learns to communicate with someone other than his friend, Tenten."

"Why is it imperative?" she asked.

"Because once bonded," Hiruzen licked his lips before continuing. "Once bonded, the Namikaze Warrior can become closed off from everything around him or her. In our case, Naruto would become a mindless killer and would need to be put down … permanently."

Mebuki gasped at the revelation, but Hiruzen continued. "Furthermore … after an extensive analysis, we have discovered that the Kyūbi is no longer within Naruto. The beast's chakra has … fused with Naruto's own core."

"Kami," Mebuki gasped. "That means that his Chakra will be almost impossible to control!"

"Then we have his awakening," the Sandaime spoke. "His Namikaze side has been forced awake by the Relic … and that means – like your daughter, Sakura – he will have near perfect control of his Chakra."

"But that combined with his Uzumaki DNA," Mebuki hummed in thought. "Would mean that he's going to need specialist training."

They were interrupted by a nurse, who looked pale. "M-My Lord, Namikaze-san has already awoken."

'It's already spread,' Hiruzen pondered. 'The people of Konoha know Naruto-kun's lineage.'

"I was under the impression that it'd take days for him to awaken," Mebuki responded with a raised eyebrow.

"As did we, My Lady," the Nurse returned. "But …"

"But what, Nurse-san?" Hiruzen demanded.

"I-I overheard the D-Doctor, Lord Hokage," the Nurse quickly replied. "They say that Namikaze-san regenerated almost immediately. They're calling his healing factor … Godlike."

Hiruzen snapped his gaze to Mebuki. "This must be a side-effect of the Kyūbi's demise."

They talked quietly, but neither noticed that the Nurse had heard the Hokage's first statement … the Kyūbi was dead!

"Perhaps I should return to calm the populace," Hiruzen grimaced at the thought, but bid the blonde goodbye.

Mebuki swallowed nervously as she eyed the hospital room that her nephew was occupying. All she had to do was knock and meet him, but what would she say? 'Hi, I'm your Aunt that never looked for you'?

Gathering her courage, Mebuki knocked. To her surprise it was the brown haired girl that opened the door – and her scowl said enough.

"Hi," Mebuki spoke. "I-I'm Naruto's … oh Kami this is difficult. My name is Mebuki Haruno … formally Mebuki Namikaze."

Tenten's eyes widened at the name. "I'm Tenten Higurashi, Haruno-sama. Forgive my bluntness, but if you're Naruto-kun's family, then WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?"

Mebuki grimaced and explained the events surrounding the Kyūbi attack and the aftermath.

"I-I see," Tenten muttered. "Then you thought Naruto-kun was dead?"

"Yes," Mebuki merely replied.

"It's okay, Onee-chan," Naruto's voice spoke. "Let her in, I've heard everything."

 **..::..**

Mebuki beamed as she left the Hospital with Naruto following along. Naruto accepted her … even after everything that he'd gone through, he still accepted her. True, he was still wary of her, but she hoped that he'd open up to her soon.

She had already been home and explained everything to Sakura – who was appalled to learn of the way she had treated her cousin. For some time now, Sakura had regretted breaking off her ties of friendship to Naruto, but she was teased enough without being his friend at the time. She felt sick as she remembered the things that she'd said to Naruto. Hopefully she could make it up to Naruto and earn his trust back easier now that he was family and would be staying with them.

"So, Naruto-kun," Mebuki prompted. "Where is your home?"

"I live in the public quarter of the Red Light District," Naruto easily responded without a care in the world – as if he was talking about the weather.

It took all of Mebuki's self-control to remain outwardly calm. "I-I see, well don't worry – I can get a Shinobi to collect your things."

"No need," Naruto returned. "I'm currently wearing everything I own. My apartment has no furniture that's worth salvaging, Haruno-san."

'Oh Kami,' Mebuki growled mentally. "Then we can get you some new things tomorrow."

"Don't feel like you _have_ to provide me with anything, Haruno-san," Naruto replied – cutting off her thoughts. "I am quite used to salvaging what I need from Training Ground #44."

"T-The Forest of Death?" the blonde woman squeaked. "That is _no_ place for someone of your age to be around, Naruto-kun."

"It has provided me with shelter and equipment," Naruto retorted. "That is _far_ more than the Village has."

Mebuki hissed mentally … it was going to take a _lot_ of work to prevent Naruto from closing his heart to the outside world.

"Be that as it may, Naruto-kun," Mebuki spoke gently. "We are family – Kin … and I would gladly provide for you."

Naruto stayed silent, but Mebuki did spot the twitch of a smile.

 **..::..**

Shopping was … tedious and Mebuki received a taste of what Naruto had to deal with on a daily basis. She did notice that there were more people whispering about him than normal, not to mention the paling faces of the shopkeepers of the stores that turned them away as they were then told about _who_ Naruto was. It wasn't until moments later that Mebuki realised that Naruto was directing her to the Emporium – seeing that it was common place for Naruto to be turned away, he instinctively knew where he needed to go to get any semblance of assistance.

Mebuki followed Naruto into the store and nodded to Han, who was behind the counter. Han nodded back with a pleased smile – he was very happy to see Naruto with someone who would care for him.

Moving to the clothing section, Naruto frowned as she gestured to the more expensive clothing. Sure they were great quality, but they were also too flashy – like the hideous orange jumpsuit that he found in the trash of one of the other stores. He explained that to Mebuki, and she smiled at his answer. He looked at the various clothing and found what he was looking for – simple black shorts that he could grow into as he got older, and a green armoured t-shirt. A new pair of black Ninja sandals went with them and that was it … all in all, it was simple gear that he could grow into a train with until his graduation – where he could get more customised gear.

Mebuki purchased 5 of each of the shirts and shorts for Naruto and gestured to the various holsters and packs. "Are you right or left handed, Naruto-kun?"

"Neither," Naruto replied. "I'm ambidextrous, Haruno-san."

Mebuki grinned – just like his father. She purchased two holsters – one for each leg and a pouch for his medical supplies. "Is there anything else that you want, Naruto-kun – more weapons?"

Naruto took a glance around but shook his head negatively. "No, with my sword and shield, I need no more equipment or weapons."

"Well, it is going to be getting into winter soon, Naruto-kun," Mebuki reasoned. "Why don't you select a jacket or jumper to wear … consider this a request."

Naruto tilted his head in thought but nodded in acceptance. He moved and picked a simple black, sleeveless hoodie with no discerning features, save for the armoured mesh woven into the fabric. Mebuki moved to object at it being sleeveless, but Naruto interrupted. "I don't get sick or feel the cold, Haruno-san. I'm making a compromise in getting the hoodie in the first place."

Mebuki sighed but nodded, she purchased a few more as spares and paid the acceptable price asked by Han. As they moved to leave, Han called. "Naruto-san!"

Naruto turned and caught the items thrown to him by Han. "Leather braces to support your wrists with your sword and shield, along with a care kit for your gear."

Naruto surprised them by smiling at Han. "Thank you Han-san … please tell Tenten that I'll see her soon – she _did_ promise to train with me, after all."

"Of course, Naruto-san," Han replied with a smile. "I'm sure she's eager to train with you."

Naruto bowed with thanks and left with Mebuki – their direction: the Haruno Household.

 **..::..**

Sakura stood nervously at the entrance the Haruno home. She took deep breaths in an attempt to stop wringing her hands from nerves. Would Naruto accept her, or her – their family? Sakura took another shaky breath as the door handle wriggled – indicating the return of her mother and their newest family member.

"Ah, Sakura-chan," Mebuki beamed as she walked into the entrance. "You remember Naruto-kun, don't you?"

Mebuki stepped aside and led Naruto inside, where she then stopped him and told him that he needed to remove his sandals. Naruto was confused – both Sakura and her mother could sense it, but he obeyed and removed his sandals.

"Dinner will be ready in about an hour, Naruto-kun," Mebuki informed the boy. "Why don't you show Naruto to his new room, Sakura?"

"Okay Kaa-chan," Sakura nodded with a smile to Naruto. "Follow me … uh … Naruto-kun."

Naruto made no protest as he followed Sakura down a hallway and to the room furthest from the main entrance. "Here we are, Naruto-kun. Kaa-chan said that if you want to decorate your room, then all you need to do is ask."

The room was simple in design. It had pale blue walls and a sturdy wooden floor. The roof was high and Naruto realised that it had an elevated roof to maximise space as there was a wall dedicated to scrolls and books – though it was empty aside from the Academy Course Books. Naruto raised a brow at that since he'd never even had a chance to read a complete set before. Aside from the basic appearance and the bookcase, the room held a double bed along the wall, along with a desk and chair on the opposite side, whilst an inbuilt wardrobe sat beside the desk. The room's window allowed just the right amount of light to land on the bed.

"Thank you, Sakura-san," Naruto merely responded. He ignored her stare as he placed his new clothes in the wardrobe and put his equipment on the desk. Sakura frowned at the rather emotionless response from a boy that used to be so full of life. She raised a brow as he took out a scroll and unsealed a large sword and shield, before reverently placing them on the bed. The matching pale blue bedcover caused the shield to stand out, and Sakura felt herself mesmerised by the beautiful shield.

"Is there a training ground?" Naruto asked.

"Uh, yes," Sakura replied sheepishly – having being caught staring at the shield. "I'll show you, if you want?"

Naruto nodded and Sakura smiled as she led him outside his room and to the left. Sakura gestured to the door at the end of the short hallway. "That door leads to our small training ground. It's small, but it's large enough to complete the mandatory educational training."

"I see," Naruto hummed. "Thank you, I'll likely be spending the majority of my time in the room given to me or the training ground. Are there any other books or scrolls that I may borrow?"

"Yes," Sakura beamed. "Tou-san has a large collection of scrolls and books in the living room, and since you're family – you've got permission to use them."

"Thank you, Sakura-san," Naruto nodded.

Sakura grinned and then showed Naruto any other rooms of importance, such as the bathroom, kitchen, and living room and where to find the other bedrooms. Naruto memorized the routes to each and excused himself to his room. Sakura sighed and looked to her mother with a disheartened look.

"Please give him time, Sakura-chan" Mebuki smiled encouragingly. "He's only just discovered that he has family. He's lived on his own since he was four years old."

Sakura gaped at her mother and then asked in a small voice. "He lived alone?"

"Yes," Mebuki affirmed.

Sakura suddenly felt even guiltier about how she had treated the once happy boy. Both heard the door to the training ground open and Sakura gained a resolved glint in her eye. She moved and took a scroll from the shelf and turned to her mother.

"It seems like a good day to read outside," she pondered out loud.

"A very good day indeed," Mebuki grinned – instantly seeing through her daughter's plan. "Silent support would be an excellent way to show that we're here, hmm?"

Sakura nodded and silently made the trek out to the training ground. The sight Sakura came outside to was not what she expected. For there was a Dog Masked ANBU there giving Naruto a scroll and speaking with him.

"This is a **Bunshin Jutsu** that's _very_ special," the ANBU spoke in a carefree tone. "It was designed by the Uzumaki Clan and offered to Konoha since Uzu and Konoha were allies. Since you now know that you are an Uzumaki, it is yours to learn."

Naruto narrowed his gaze at the ANBU and then spoke in a chilling tone. "Please ask Hokage-sama to provide me with all the Uzumaki Jutsu and scrolls that Konoha has. As you've said, ANBU-san … I am of the Uzumaki Clan, and I'd prefer it if _my_ rightful heritage wasn't at the mercy of an _allied_ village."

"I'm sure the Sandaime will assist you with your request," the ANBU returned.

"And yet," Naruto spoke coldly. "Hokage-sama _ignored_ my last _several_ appeals for assistance. If this Village is unable to adhere to my _request_ then I'll be more than happy to dissolve the alliance and appeal to the Daimyo for what is owed to me and mine."

The ANBU sucked in a breath but nodded. "You have been heard, Uzumaki-san."

The ANBU instantly left to tell the Hokage Naruto's answer. Naruto growled and stormed back into the house and locked himself in his room.

"Well, so much for silent support," Sakura sighed. Sakura sadly moved back into the living room and sighed once more as she sat on one of the chairs. Mebuki remained silent but sent her daughter a reassuring look. They remained in silence, with Mebuki cooking and Sakura reading for another hour before Mebuki announced that dinner was ready.

"Can you please get Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan?" Mebuki called from the kitchen.

"Yes, Kaa-chan," Sakura called back. Sakura stood and traversed the small way to Naruto's room.

"Naruto-kun," Sakura called as she knocked on the door. "Dinner is ready, can you please join us?"

The door opened and Sakura blinked at all the Academy Books on the floor – spread out in a circle. Naruto tilted his head and followed Sakura as they both made their way back to the dining room table.

Naruto looked baffled by the amount of food, and waited to watch Mebuki eat a dish before he copied the action. It dawned on the two Haruno women that Naruto _didn't_ know how to eat with such tools like chopsticks and must've eaten simple dishes in his apartment. Sakura did send a worried look to her mother when she saw how quickly Naruto was eating – as if he was getting as much as he could before it was taken away. Mebuki's lips became a thin line as she too noticed the quick – almost desperate eating.

"Now normally, I'd have Sakura help me with the dishes," Mebuki informed their new family member. "And seeing as it's your first night – I'll do the dishes tonight and you can have an early night … you must be tired after everything that's happened today, so go have a nice bath and then sleep."

Naruto nodded his thanks and moved to leave when he halted at her suggestion. "What is a bath, Haruno-san?"

Mebuki froze at the question. 'Oh dear.'

After an embarrassing talk with Naruto over how to use the bath and use the products, she ushered him off towards the bathroom. Naruto made sure to follow her instructions to the letter and for the first time he could remember – he felt clean … even his hair felt softer and less heavy on his head. Naruto changed into an identical set of clothes from the store and laid back on his new bed. He awkwardly shuffled to another position, but that lasted even less than the previous position and shifted once more. Naruto continued to shift – trying to get comfortable and after an hour of doing so – he gave up. He wasn't used to beds and pillows or being clean for that matter … so Naruto left his bed, made it and then laid under his desk. It was small, confined, hard and dark … just what he was used to, so there Naruto slept.

 **..::..**

Mebuki was up early to prepare breakfast for Sakura, herself and now Naruto. Once everything was almost complete, she woke Sakura and then moved to wake Naruto up as well. She panicked at first once she noticed the empty, poorly made bed, but then she heard Naruto's soft breathing coming from under the desk in the corner. A ripple of pain shot through her at the sight … a boy that should've been raised with a loving family, was huddled and snoring softly as if he was in a comfortable bed and not on a cold, hard floor without a pillow or blanket.

"N-Naruto-kun," Mebuki softly woke him. "It's time for breakfast, and your friend Tenten's father has said that Tenten has the whole day off to spend with you."

Naruto groggily woke up and looked around the room in confusion … this wasn't his apartment – where was he? It took him a minute to process the events of the previous day, before he sat quietly … too quietly, Mebuki noted. Naruto nodded mutely to Mebuki and crawled out from under the desk.

"Why were you under the desk, Naruto-kun?" Mebuki asked.

"I … I'm not used to a bed," Naruto admitted tiredly. "The floor here is comfortable compared to my old apartment's floor."

Mebuki felt that ripple once more, but remained silent as she made her way back to finish cooking the breakfast.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," beamed Sakura.

"Good morning, Sakura-san," Naruto returned.

He looked to the new meal with confusion once more and Mebuki belatedly realised that he probably wasn't used to eating three meals a day. They watched him repeat his actions of watching and then copying how to eat certain dishes. Naruto only managed to get through half of his meal before feeling sick.

"It's okay to not finish it, Naruto-kun," Mebuki soothed. "Give it time to get used to eating properly, okay?"

Naruto blinked at her, but nodded. "I'll be going to see Tenten now, if that's okay?"

"Of course," Mebuki agreed. "Please be home by seven for dinner, but take that lunch box with you for when you get hungry later."

Naruto directed his gaze to where Mebuki pointed to a prepared lunch, and nodded in acceptance to her rule and request. He bid goodbye to the two Haruno women and left with his sword and shield strapped to his arm.

 **..::..**

 **And there we are for chapter one of this idea. Please tell me what you think, and please review** ** _constructively._** **There's no need to be rude.**

 **[AN1] – Achilles' Shield.**

 **[AN2] – Achilles' Sword.**

 **I shall now return to my reconstruction of Red Eyed Master's next chapter.**

 **..::..**

 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


	12. Chapter 12

**..::..**

 **Here we are for another random idea that has plagued me. It is my hope that once it's out of my head, I can return to my other stories.**

 **Again, as my profile page says: Because of my health, I may go 'dark' when updating, but I will not abandon my stories. I'm working on several at the moment and you, my dear readers, will just have to exercise some patience … I don't know what that is so I can't help you.**

 **Right, so, there's a crossover reference to RWBY as I'll be borrowing some of a backstory and weapon from one of the characters.**

 **Please enjoy.**

 **..::..**

 **I DO NOT OWN NARUTO**

 **..::..**

"Ramen" – Speech

'Ramen' – Thoughts

 **"Ramen"** – Bijuu/Summon Speech

 **'Ramen'** – Bijuu/Summon Thoughts

 ** _"_** ** _Ramen"_** – God/Deity Speech

 ** _'_** ** _Ramen'_** – God/Deity Thoughts

 **..::..**

Shikaku Nara and his wife Yoshino smiled proudly as their son Shikamaru chatted lazily with their allied Clan's children. Ino Yamanaka and Chouji Akimichi had been invited to eat out with the Nara Clan to celebrate the fall of the Kyūbi no Kitsune (The Nine-Tailed Fox) that had perished 7 years ago. The three children were very close and it showed as they each interacted.

They'd just left the Barbeque Restaurant and this is where our story begins …

 **..::..**

"Man, I'm stuffed," Chouji commented blissfully.

Shikamaru grinned at his brother in all but blood. "Yeah, as troublesome as it is to celebrate, it was fun."

"Geez," Ino grumbled. "You're both freaking me out. You ate all the good meat too … a girl's supposed to be treated better than that."

Overhearing the children's conversations, Yoshino sighed and looked to her husband.

"They act _exactly_ the same as you and your team at your age," Yoshino spoke fondly.

Shikaku shrugged unhelpfully at his wife, but the small smirk on his face spoke enough.

"Oh look," a voice interrupted their mood. "The demon has come out of its den."

Shikaku tensed and was about to direct their son and his friends away from the scene, but said children wanted to watch the scene. Yes, Shikaku knew he was being a coward by pretending to not see what was happening to the child that they called 'demon' but it wasn't any of his business to intervene … after all, the Sandaime (Third) Hokage's ANBU would likely be there any moment.

So when the children ran to get a better look at what was happening, Shikaku glanced for signs of the ANBU. To his immediate shock, he sensed them at the scene, but they weren't stopping it.

Yoshino jogged to catch up with the children and gasped at the scene in front of them.

A small, if not tiny child with muddy blood red hair was huddled over a loaf of mouldy bread that had likely been 'liberated' from the trash can near to them … a trash can that was now being brandished by one of the men that was taunting the child.

"Aww, the _poor_ fox-child wants to eat?" the man questioned nastily. "Then eat all you want."

The man then tipped the entirety of the can's trash onto the child in question. The child growled weakly, but remained huddled to protect the food being cradled to their chest. The man hissed as his taunting wasn't enough to get the brat to react, so he then 'accidentally' dropped the metal trash can on the child's head. The child squeaked and instinctively moved to grab at their sore head, but in doing so, the loaf of bread fell from the child's grip and into the dirt.

A woman nearby snatched the mouldy bread from the dirt and threw it into a nearby puddle of mud.

"Enjoy your meal, you little abomination," she laughed, before kicking some of the mud at the red-headed child.

The two instantly froze as they found themselves unable to move. Shikaku gaped as his son used a Jutsu that he'd only _just_ taught him. It wavered slightly – showing that the Jutsu wasn't performed correctly, but the momentary distraction was enough for the child to grab the soggy, muddy and mouldy bread from the mud and flee.

"Quick," Chouji declared. "Follow that kid … they need help!"

Ino grimaced at the sight of the child, but nodded and followed after Chouji and Shikamaru.

Shikaku gestured for Yoshino to follow as he directed a murderous glare at the crowd and ANBU … he couldn't ignore the child's plight any more. Yoshino nodded seriously and dashed after her son and his friends – as she turned a corner, she felt pride as she heard her husband enter his Jounin Commander mode.

Her pride turned into guilt and shame as she found the children surrounding the red-head a few alleyways away from the first scene. The guilt came from the sight of the red-head shaking like a leaf at being stuck in a dead-end alleyway with people surrounding them, while the shame was for the child's plight.

The child should've _never_ been treated like they had, and she had been complicit by ignoring the child – even telling her son to stay away from them.

Now that she could get a better look at the child, she could see the ratty clothing that hung off of the child's tiny frame. The child was only wearing an overly large shirt and nothing else from what she could see, and even that was so filthy and old, that it was barely being held together. Furthermore, it was impossible to discern the child's sex from the clothing. The child's shaking grew worse when they spotted her, and she knew that the child had probably never had any good experiences with adults.

The child glanced at the four people surrounding them and then to the loaf of inedible bread. Seemingly coming to a conclusion that pained her even more, she watched as the child resigned themselves to going hungry by offering the bread to them … the poor thing thought they wanted the bread.

Using the shock of the children, the child threw the bread at their feet and dashed for a hole in the wall to Yoshino's left. Yoshino's Kunoichi instincts kicked in and she effortlessly caught the child, cringing when she felt the tiny arm break at her strong grip. The child wailed in pain and turned to bite Yoshino on her arm. It worked in the child's favour for all of a second … as Yoshino once again, prevented the child from escaping by hugging the child from behind … accidentally causing further harm as the child slammed their head into the wall as they had been diving for the hole.

The child struggled pathetically in Yoshino's grip – scratching and trying to bite her in attempt at freedom. The child went still in her arms, resignation on their face and Yoshino relaxed a little to make the child more comfortable. To her surprise the child waited until she had done so before head butting her and slipping through her arms. The child then squeezed through the hole in the wall and disappeared from sight, as a glance at what lied beyond was the dense trees and abandoned factories of Old Konoha.

 **..::..**

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha sighed in comfort as he re-read the report of one Naruto Uzumaki. From the report, Naruto-kun liked to draw and read and had a lot of friends in the Orphanage. His solitude was interrupted by the _last_ person he'd have thought possible of looking so terrifying … Shikaku Nara.

Shikaku quite literally kicked his door down … fury not seen since the last war on his face.

"What is the meaning of this Shikaku?" the Sandaime ordered.

In response, Shikaku threw an ANBU that he knew watched Naruto onto the floor between them.

"I'm no Ibiki or Anko," Shikaku seethed in fury. "But I can still interrogate … I learned a _lot_ from Inoichi."

"Talk," Shikaku merely ordered the ANBU.

So talk the ANBU did … he was compelled to do so, as the ANBU ID Seal was Uzumaki in design and compelled them to report the truth if activated.

Shikaku, as Jounin Commander activated it. The ANBU revealed _everything_ that had been covered up and Hiruzen collapsed in shock and shame.

"H-How could this be?" he muttered. "I was just reading a report on how happy Naruto is."

The ANBU assumed the question was directed at him, so he revealed that truth as well. "We were ordered by the Village Elder Homura, sir. We were not to report the true condition of the Jinchūriki. He needed the Jinchūriki malleable for training."

Hiruzen snarled and a single fluid motion saw the ANBU knocked out by a powerful blow.

"Get Inoichi to read what he can from this traitor's head," Hiruzen snarled. When no one moved from shock, he released so much KI (Killing Intent) that the entire village felt it. "Did I stutter? Do as I command **at once**!"

The ANBU instantly complied and all but fled from the fury that was the God of Shinobi.

"Do you know _who_ Naruto-kun is, Shikaku?" the Sandaime asked tiredly.

"I assume that from what colouring I can tell," Shikaku muttered. "That he/she is Kushina Uzumaki's child."

"Yes," Hiruzen confirmed. "But that's not all … _he_ is also the child of Minato Namikaze."

Shikaku instantly felt more guilt grip his heart … the child was Minato's … his dearest friend's child was being treated the way he had?

"This cannot be allowed to continue," Shikaku growled. "But my wife Yoshino can shed some more light on the child. She pursued the children."

An ANBU later had Yoshino standing before the Hokage – her eyes puffy from tears and bandages covering the scratches and bite on her arms. She reported on her observations and the confrontation, and Hiruzen hissed at his own inaction.

"You say he went into Old Konoha?" the Sandaime hummed. "That's strange in itself … as it's the location of the ruins of the Uzumaki Clan."

The two Nara members blinked, but Yoshino interrupted. "W-Wait … he's Kushina's?"

At her leader's nod, she sobbed. "The child of my own teammate is living as an animal."

"Perhaps," Shikaku pondered out loud. "If he is more like an animal, then the Chakra of the Uzumaki Clan's Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques) is drawing him to it. He would feel safe there."

"You may be correct," Hiruzen hummed. "That and it blocks my Crystal Ball. It would explain why my monitoring Jutsu fails. The semi-sentient Uzumaki Temple would instantly remove foreign Fūinjutsu from his body … unless they were Uzumaki in design. That doesn't mean much at the moment however … we need to get Naruto-kun treated, but he won't trust anyone."

"Wait," Yoshino spoke. "Kushi-chan once said that only those permitted entrance could actually enter the temple."

"And that's important how?" the Sandaime questioned.

"It's important because Naruto hides there," Yoshino explained. "If he feels safe at temple, then only those that can enter that 'safe' place are, in turn, safe to approach."

Hiruzen blinked at the simple solution. "This is assuming that Naruto-kun is actually in tune with the Chakra of the temple."

"Yes," Yoshino nodded. "But it's our only chance to get to Naruto."

"Can you do it?" her husband but in.

"Unfortunately no," Yoshino sighed. "By trying to catch him earlier, he identifies me as foe. I in avertedly hurt him in the process."

They noticed the sadness in her tone, so Shikaku snaked an arm around his wife's waist in comfort.

"Then we have a problem," Hiruzen spoke seriously after a moment of thought. "There are only _two_ people that have permission to enter the temple. One was Kushina's husband Minato, but he is gone. The only other person that can enter is his sister."

"S-Sister?" the Jounin Commander blinked. "Kushina had no living relatives and Minato was an orphan."

"That is where you're wrong," Hiruzen puffed at his newly lit pipe. "It was made a secret to protect his relative, but they discovered their relation when Minato needed that blood transfusion after his run in with the Kumo-nin that had kidnapped Kushina-chan."

"And who is this sister?" Yoshino desperately begged. "Every second we delay is a second that Naruto-kun is injured and alone!"

"Yes, of course," Hiruzen nodded. "His sister is Mebuki Haruno, and you're correct … we have no time to waste. ANBU – retrieve her for me."

 **..::..**

Mebuki Haruno smiled softly as her daughter read _another_ book. She was definitely a smart one. Her precious moment was interrupted by an ANBU telling her that the Sandaime demanded her presence … and that it was urgent.

Mebuki quickly gathered her daughter up and dropped her off at her friend's house. Ino Yamanaka was more than happy to have her friend over … especially after the encounter and how bad she felt for the kid that was scared of them.

Mebuki bowed as she stood before her leader. "How may I be of assistance, Hokage-sama?"

"I'm pleased you're here, but I must be brief," Hiruzen spoke. "You can get angry and question me later, but we must move quickly. Your brother's son survived the Sealing. He's now injured and hiding in the Uzumaki Temple. As the only person in the Village with permission to enter the temple … you will enter it and get Uzumaki Naruto to go with you for treatment."

Mebuki felt pure rage bubble up inside of her … how dare they lie to her? That didn't matter as she registered the remaining information. Her nephew needed her, and she was the _only_ one that could help him … he was in the Uzumaki Temple.

Hiruzen had only just finished when Mebuki vanished. She raced as fast as she could to the Uzumaki Temple, and without so much as flinching, sliced her hand and presented her blood to the entrance. The entrance hissed as it analysed her DNA but granted her passage. Mebuki slowed to a careful walk as she followed the almost silent sobbing coming from the High Priestess' Quarters.

"H-Hello?" she cursed inwardly at her stutter. She heard the sobbing stop and a tense silence permeated the temple. "I-I'm not here to harm you … I just want to help you."

A movement at the corner of her eye caught her attention and she slowly turned to see the dirty red hair of her newly discovered nephew. The child was watching her with an odd combination of suspicion and curiosity … it was likely due to the fact that he felt the Seals accept her and grant her permission to enter. He ducked slightly as her eyes landed on him, but didn't pull back entirely. Under the ever burning fire of the shrine, she saw his blue eyes glitter from the light. Her nephew had his father's eyes it seemed.

"Here," Mebuki soothed with her arms open in invitation. "I know you're hurt, Naruto-kun. I won't hurt you, child. The temple accepted me so you know I'm safe."

Naruto gasped as she called him an unfamiliar name … it sounded like he should recognise it, but it was something he hadn't heard in a very long time. The soothing woman _was_ granted permission to enter though, and his safe place only ever protected him from the horrible big people. Spurred by the thought, Naruto cautiously shuffled out from behind the pillar he'd hidden behind.

"There you are," Mebuki smiled. It was a kind smile … something else he wasn't familiar with but it filled him with a warm feeling. He liked the feeling _very_ much. Like an animal, Naruto sniffed the air and took in Mebuki's scent as he approached.

Mebuki mentally growled as she saw Naruto cradling his arm tenderly – oh she'd be having _words_ with Yoshino for this. Instead of dwelling on the negative thoughts, she put on another kind smile as Naruto came within arm's reach of her. She made no movements to scare him away though, and instead made cooing noises to comfort the hurt boy … though if she was totally honest, he seemed very pretty for a boy.

'It looks like he also inherited his father's girly features,' she sighed fondly.

Naruto sniffed her up close and relaxed slightly in her presence.

"See?" she soothed. "I'm a friend."

"Friend?" he repeated with confusion – though it came out as childish. He didn't know why, but he liked this big person. She sounded nice and smelled nice and was allowed to enter his safe place … she was safe!

Taking a chance, he gripped her still outstretched hand; like he'd seen the other children do to their safe people. He smiled shyly at the safe person and relaxed completely.

"Safe," he said quietly – causing tears to come to Mebuki's eyes. "Hurt."

With that final word, he succumbed to his tiredness and pain and fell asleep. Only then did Mebuki shudder and let her tears fall.

"You'll never be alone again, my precious Naruto-kun," Mebuki spoke softly as she brushed his fringe out of his face – not even caring that it was grimy.

 **..::..**

When Naruto woke, it was the smell that alerted him to the fact that he was in an unfamiliar place. He was about to freak out when the scent of that safe person overwhelmed his senses. Cracking an eye open, he instantly came face to face with familiar green eyes. Only … the eyes were accompanied by bright pink hair.

Naruto instantly pushed the person away from him and tried to jump away … only for warm arms to carefully hug him. The scent bombarded him again, and he relaxed as the soothing voice of his safe person made cooing noises to calm him. He instinctively relaxed into the safe person's arms and sighed.

"I told you to not scare him, Sakura-chan," the voice softly spoke.

"Sorry Kaa-chan," 'Sakura' apologised.

"Kaa-chan," Naruto repeated quietly – testing the word. He drifted away as he saw something red cover his vision. He whined as he brushed it, only for it to fall back. The voice giggled … another sound he liked. He felt a warm hand brush away the soft, red thing away from his face and tied it back carefully.

"It's only temporary," the safe person said. "But it's one of Sakura's spare headbands."

"S-Sakura," Naruto repeated.

The pink one nodded enthusiastically. "That's me. Hi, my name is Sakura and it's nice to meet you Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked to the safe person still hugging him and watched her nod in encouragement. Naruto looked back to the one named Sakura and smiled shyly at her.

"H-Hi," he quietly responded.

Sakura made a loud but unthreateningly sound and hugged Naruto. "He's _so_ cute."

Naruto tensed and it caused Sakura to instantly let go, blushing in embarrassment. Naruto didn't understand, but he got a safe feeling from the one called Sakura too. Naruto was returned to his bed and he glanced around the room in confusion. It was only then that he realised that his arm didn't hurt anymore! He excitedly moved his arm around and looked over himself … he looked different … his skin was lighter and not covered in mud and that meant that the soft red thing was his hair! He giggled as he played with the red strands of his hair as the two Haruno females watched the scene. There was a knock at the door and in walked an old big person dressed funnily and two younger big people that he recognised from before. Naruto surprised everyone by hiding his face behind Sakura.

It was then that Sakura gently pet his hair, vowing to remain where she was. "There, there Naru-chan, I won't leave you."

It wasn't known then, but that was the day that Sakura Haruno swore to always protect Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto didn't know why Sakura was calling him Naru-chan, but he liked it more than Naruto or Naruto-kun. He burrowed into Sakura's hug and sighed as Sakura continued to caress his hair.

"It looks like he remembers you two," Hiruzen directed the comment to Shikaku and Yoshino.

"So it seems," Yoshino dejectedly responded. Shikaku simply nodded as if he'd predicted the reaction from the red-head.

"Now then," Hiruzen coughed. "It's nice to meet you Naruto-kun. My name is…"

"Naru-chan," he boldly corrected before hiding his face once more.

"Uh … nice to meet you Naru-chan," Hiruzen corrected. "My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi and I'm the Sandaime Hokage of this Village."

Naruto made no move to budge from Sakura's shoulder, so he continued. "I'm so very sorry for how you've been treated Naru-chan. We've reviewed your situation and have come to offer you a choice."

Naruto finally moved to look at the Sandaime – confusion clearly on his face.

"Simple words," Mebuki offered helpfully.

"Ah, of course," Hiruzen sighed. "Naru-chan, who do you want to stay with?"

"Safe," Naruto spoke.

"You can't live at the Temple, Naru-chan," Hiruzen sighed. Naruto scrunched up his face adorably in thought.

"Safe," Naruto repeated with a little more voice than before – glancing cautiously to the Haruno Family.

Hiruzen rubbed his face tiredly when he realised what Naruto was trying to say. Safe as in Safe Family … he only trusted the Haruno Family.

"You want to stay with Mebuki and Sakura?" he translated.

Naruto saw the two Haruno nod to his unasked question and beamed happily.

"Un … safe," Naruto chirped excitedly. Sakura squealed at the adorable sight and hugged Naruto tightly. Something that Naruto didn't flinch at or tense this time.

Mebuki left _her_ children to get better acquainted as she stepped out of the room to discuss the official business side of the decision. There was a lot of shouting, but it was decided that the Civilian Council had no jurisdiction in the matter as Naruto was related by blood to the Haruno Family.

 **..::..**

"Sorry we have no proper clothing for you Naru-chan," Mebuki apologised as she dressed Naruto in one of Sakura's spare Kunoichi shorts and an old sleeveless hoodie from her own collection. The hoodie fell to the boy's knees, but he liked it enough because it smelled of Mebuki and was warm. Mebuki went to remove Sakura's old headband from his hair, but Naruto pouted at the action, the message was clear … he liked the headband.

Naruto spun happily in the clothes and hugged Mebuki once she stopped trying to remove the headband. Mebuki smiled wetly but hugged the boy back. Naruto suddenly stopped and shyly looked to Mebuki's hand, before looking away sadly. Mebuki didn't understand at first but then Sakura stepped up and took Naruto's hand in hers.

Naruto started at the gesture before beaming … so he wanted to hold hands!

The moment they left the hospital, they knew something was different … probably because no one was glaring at Naruto. Mebuki instantly knew it was because no one recognised Naruto. Naruto looked like a girl due to the clothing and headband, so people just assumed that 'she' was just another girl out with 'her' mother and sister. Surprisingly, a look at Naruto saw him also putting the pieces together as he gazed from the people to his new clothes in a thoughtful manner.

An old lady smiled at Naruto and he hid behind Sakura because of it. The old lady just laughed and waved good bye to the 'girls'. Naruto eventually removed himself from Sakura's protective back and returned to looking around in awe. It was painful for Mebuki as it was clear that it was because Naruto hadn't really ventured outside in the day time.

Naruto was mesmerized by the sights and sounds of Konoha during the day. He never went outside unless he could hide in the dark places … otherwise it wasn't safe for him. He noticed that the people looked like they didn't recognise him and the old lady that startled him mentioned something about being an adorable girl. Naruto didn't know much, but he knew that he was a boy, so it took him a minute to realise that he must've _looked_ like a girl in Sakura's and Mebuki's clothing. He glanced between the people's smiles and his clothing in thought.

Girl's clothing = safe from getting hurt, therefore it made sense to dress like a girl. Naruto watched the world feeling more at ease as his young mind came to the conclusion that it had. If the world saw him as a girl and it was safer to be outside dressed as one … then he'd happily dress as a girl.

 **..::..**

Mebuki smiled happily as she watched Sakura teach Naru the bigger words in a story book. It had been six months since he'd come to live with them and she couldn't be happier. Sakura protected Naru with a vengeance, and Kami help anyone who hurt Naru.

Naruto had started to respond to 'Naru' instead of his full name, he had ever since the day they'd left the hospital, and if anyone tried to address him any differently then he ignored them outright.

Naru continued to dress like a girl as well. He simply perceived dressing like a girl as safer than dressing like a boy. Inoichi Yamanaka had informed her that it was his way of identifying with the world after living seven years alone and abused. He spent several sessions with the red-head and discovered that Naru _knew_ he was a boy, but identified with being a girl more.

Normally, Inoichi would've recommended more sessions, but then he realised that it was like the seasoned Shinobi and Kunoichi that developed quirks to cope with the stress of their lifestyles. Naruto had merely gotten a head start on the process because of his life before the Haruno Family. At least Sakura and Ino didn't mind. They thought it was adorable and liked to dress him up, while Naru never seemed to mind because he still needed to be reminded that they were there for good.

 **..::..**

Mebuki beamed with pride. Naru had easily passed the examination to be admitted to the Ninja Academy, while the Hokage pulled some strings and got him admitted to Sakura's year. Sakura had gone to play with Ino for the day, leaving Naru and Mebuki alone as she picked him up.

"How do you want to celebrate, Naru-chan?" she asked him.

Naru shuffled on his feet nervously before gesturing to a weapon store. "C-Can I get a weapon for extracurricular study?"

Mebuki smiled at the boy – Sakura had such an impact on his life that he felt the need to emulate Sakura and study _everything_ he could get his hands on. "Of course you can, sweetie, but let's go to the Emporium instead. They're more expensive, but you're getting what you pay for."

Naru vibrated excitedly at getting permission – he'd seen the upper years training with extracurricular weapons for credit, and he was eager to find one for him to study with.

"Welcome to the Emporium," chimed the polite voice of a girl a little older than Naru.

"Tenten?" the effeminate boy questioned.

"Naru-chan!" the girl beamed happily. "So you finally agreed to get a weapon, at last?"

Naru nodded shyly and Tenten beamed again. "Well then, let's get you partnered with your destined weapon!"

It was something that Tenten firmly believed in – that every person had a weapon that was 'destined' to belong to them. She eagerly measured up her friend and started thinking of the possibilities.

Mebuki had to giggle at Naru's predicament. He looked entirely lost as Tenten shoved weapon after weapon in his hands and asked him to test it out. Naru groaned as Tenten kept handing him new weapons as soon as he didn't like the feel of one. Eventually even Tenten was getting annoyed.

"Nothing?" she huffed.

"I'm sorry Ten-chan," Naru smiled apologetically. "I just don't like any of the weapons you picked for me. They just feel wrong."

Tenten perked up and nodded sagely. "Then I guess Tou-chan wouldn't mind if I showed you the special stock."

"What wouldn't I mind?" a deep voice from the doorway asked.

"I wanted to show Naru-chan the special stock," Tenten sheepishly repeated.

The man that was definitely Tenten's father hummed as he eyed Naru up and down. "Yes, this one does have the necessary chakra reserves to warrant showing them my special weapons. Very well … this way please."

Naru practically skipped after the man. Something about him had Naru at ease. Naru had a unique sense for people, so anyone Naru didn't like was someone to be wary of. They stopped in front of a door and blinked at the 'common' appearance of the weapons on display. Naru was about to comment on it when he froze. _Something_ was calling to his chakra, and it was drawing him in.

Following the feeling he found it hidden behind several other poles and long weapons. It was a Warhammer. It had beautifully carved patterns and lines all over the handle and hammer's surface itself, whilst there appeared to be an internal mechanism that looked like it revolved. **[AN1]**

"M-Magnhild," the man stuttered nervously. "Perhaps you should pick another weapon, it's very heavy you see and …"

The man was cut off when Naru picked it up effortlessly and spun it casually in his hands.

"I-It's perfect," Naru whispered with a gentle smile on his face. "Oh, there's a seal?"

Tenten's father blinked. "What seal?"

Naru pointed it out, and the man blinked again. "Uh, I don't see a seal, kid."

Naru hummed in thought and channelled chakra into the seal. A sudden burst of compressed chakra exploded from Magnhild's hammer and sent Naru flying backwards into a wall lined with training dummies.

"Naru-chan!" screamed Mebuki and Tenten in unison.

Naru groaned as he stood but excitement was still painted on his face. "That was amazing! I definitely want this weapon. May I please have it?"

Tenten's father narrowed his gaze at the boy dressed like a girl … oh yes, he knew who Naru was, but didn't care in the slightest. "I guess you really _are_ an Uzumaki."

Mebuki and Naru froze.

"Don't worry, kid," the man continued. "You can call me Han, and I'm a friend of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Back to the matter at hand though," Han spoke. "Magnhild is an Uzumaki weapon. It was given to my forefathers to hold on to … I guess it's time to return it to the Uzumaki Clan."

Naru squealed happily and hugged Han. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Han grunted but pet Naru on the head. "No problem kid, now go and practise using it. I don't want to see or hear of you not using it properly."

Naru saluted the man cheerfully and rubbed his cheek against the hammer's surface. Mebuki was truly stunned. She knew that Naru had an affinity with things that went 'boom' but to find out that a hammer that could create explosions was his weapon of choice was ridiculous.

"Ouch," Naru suddenly squeaked.

The trio spun to see that the hammer had vanished, and instead there was a seal on Naru's palm that looked like simple dark circle.

"That's how it hides?" Naru asked. "I love this weapon."

A subtle burst of chakra later saw Magnhild reappear in Naru's waiting hands. Naru chuckled creepily as he sealed and then unsealed the hammer over and over again. "Wait until Itachi-kun sees this!"

Mebuki sweat dropped at her son's antics. Naru had gotten very close to Itachi over the course of him staying with them. Itachi had been there to provide protection and to observe Naru's progress and even though he wasn't _supposed_ to communicate with the effeminate child, Naru had wormed his way into Itachi's daily life. Itachi didn't seem to mind and even addressed Naru as he liked to be addressed.

So when Itachi started offering pointers to Naru on his training, Naru soaked up the information like a sponge. Everything Itachi commented on, Naru fixed and every time Naru made a remark on Itachi's attire or the limitations of the ANBU armour versus Fūinjutsu enhanced gear, Itachi took the ideas to heart and changed his attire to appease the red-head.

The only reason Itachi wasn't there at the present time was that he was assigned another mission. Mebuki didn't doubt that Itachi would be responsible for Naru becoming even more dangerous with his new weapon.

 **..::..**

Naru puffed tiredly as he destroyed another training dummy. Wielding Magnhild came effortlessly to the red-head and he thoroughly enjoyed watching his beloved hammer destroy things. They'd been together for nearly two years now, and he couldn't think of a life without his beloved.

Naru blinked as he spotted the unmistakable form of Itachi's friend Shisui race across the training ground he was using. Several figures blurred after him and Naru knew something was amiss. Despite knowing that he didn't stand a chance against those fighting, he sped after them

Shisui was his friend as much as Itachi was … and if he could distract one of his attackers, then it'd be enough for Shisui to get the upper hand.

Naru yelled out a battle cry as he slammed Magnhild into the ground between the attackers and Shisui as they subdued him. The impact sent chunks of earth into the air and peppered the attackers with shrapnel. Shisui reacted quickly and sliced the throat of one of his attackers as they were distracted by the red-haired missile that continued to cause random damage to distract the ROOT ANBU that had attacked him.

Shisui dispatched the remaining ROOT ANBU and tiredly smiled at Naru. "Thank you Naru-chan, but what were you thinking? You could've been hurt or even kill …"

They were interrupted as a Kunai flew through the air, nicking Naru's left eye in the process. Naru screamed in pain and dropped to the ground to stem the bleeding, while Shisui was once again on the defensive as more ROOT ANBU attacked him. Shisui went berserk at the ROOT … he had to get to Naru before the injury was permanent.

He cursed the fact that Danzo had stolen one of his eyes, but he had to survive and get his remaining eye to Itachi.

It was in his fury that he made a fatal mistake and overreached. It was a rookie mistake, but it cost him as he was slashed across the chest by a poisoned blade. Seconds later however, ANBU arrived on the scene with Hiruzen Sarutobi at the head of the pack.

The ROOT ANBU didn't stand a chance with the God of Shinobi out for blood. He'd actually been watching Naru's progress in training and was considering bumping him up a year level or two … or even outright ask him take the Graduation Exam at the Academy.

Naru was _that_ good. So when he saw the unmistakeable forms of ROOT ANBU attack one of _his_ Shinobi and for Naru to follow – he immobilized his forces and went for blood. When he heard Naru scream in pain, all thoughts of mercy vanished.

"Make sure we have at least _one_ survivor," Hiruzen barked as he unleashed his KI. "Eliminate the others."

Again … the ROOT ANBU never stood a chance.

When the massacre was over, Hiruzen appeared by Naru's side. The child was gasping in pain and his eye was bleeding profusely.

"I-Is Naru-chan okay?" came the wheezing voice of Shisui.

Hiruzen switched his gaze to Shisui and nodded. "Yes, but his left eye is likely useless now."

Shisui coughed blood in response and grimaced – it wasn't his original plan, but Naru could do as much good as Itachi with his eye. "Then he can take mine."

Hiruzen whirled around at the offer. "You know the cost of transplanting your Clan's eyes into a non-clan member."

"Yes," Shisui nodded sadly. "But no amount of medical treatment will save me Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen looked at Shisui's wounds and nodded solemnly. "Yes, but you know what the strain will do to Naru … look at Kakashi."

"T-That's because he's never had the Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit) transferred by an Uchiha to a non-Uchiha before." Shisui coughed. "Bring Naru-chan to me before I pass … quickly."

Hiruzen blinked at the comment but nodded and lifted the whimpering child, bringing him to Shisui's side. "You'll need to be awake for this Naru-chan. I'm so sorry, but this will hurt."

Shisui cringed as he ripped Naru's useless eye from its socket before building chakra for the technique. The Jutsu that Shisui was too quiet to be heard but Hiruzen could see the chakra lingering in Shisui's eye as he ripped it out and held it in front of Naru's empty eye socket. Hiruzen watched in shock as Shisui's lingering chakra _merged_ with Naru's chakra. The eye seemed to be sucked into the socket seconds later and they watched with morbid fascination as the eye twisted in Naru's socket until it fit in snuggly.

"It's done," wheezed Shisui. "The process will gift Naru with the ability to activate and deactivate the eye at will. The chakra consumption will be less as well, since my chakra – the chakra of an Uchiha – has merged with his."

Those watching then gaped as eerie red chakra emerged from Naru's eye and sealed the scarring. It now looked as if nothing had happened to the child at all.

Naru stirred and fluttered his eyes open. "Shisui, where is he … is he still hurt?"

Shisui couldn't see Naru but he smiled in his direction. "I'm right here Naru-chan."

"No, no, no," Naru sobbed. "You're hurt. Sandaime-sama … please h-help him."

Hiruzen glanced at Naru's now two toned eyes and sighed. "I-I'm sorry Naru-chan, but there's nothing that can be done for him now."

Naru sobbed harder and scrambled to Shisui's bloodied body. "Please don't go Shisui. I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

"Hey," Shisui soothed as he clumsily found Naru's cheek. "Don't be sad. It's thanks to you that something precious will never be in the hands of the enemy."

"R-Really?" the effeminate boy cried. "H-How did I do that?"

"Because you now have something of mine for life," Shisui gently rubbed at Naru's soft cheek. "You have my eye now Naru-chan … it's a big responsibility to have the eye of an Uchiha. Do you know why?"

Naru sniffled miserably. "Because you have the Sharingan … it's important to protect your eyes."

"Yes," Shisui coughed. "Well now _you_ have my Sharingan Naru-chan. So it'll be up to you to protect my eye … can you do that for me?"

Naru nodded seriously – tears still falling. "I'll protect your eye with my life, Shisui-kun."

"I know you will, Naru-chan," Shisui smiled at the boy before tiredly coughing … he was fading.

"No!" cried Naru. "Please don't leave Shisui … please."

"I'll always be with you, Naru-chan," Shisui soothed. "You take a piece of me wherever you go now … every time you see it, you can know that I'm watching you through your new eye."

Naru gripped Shisui's bloody shirt tightly and shook his head, not that Shisui could see it, but he pulled Naru in for one last hug. "If I ever had a younger sibling … I'd have liked it to have been you, Naru-chan. Remember to keep my eye safe."

Shisui kissed Naru's forehead before he breathed his last breath. Naru continued to shake Shisui's body … despite knowing the Uchiha was gone, he didn't want it to be real … so he continued to shake at Shisui's body anyway – tears streaming down his face. He cried out in pain at losing one of his dearest friends and Hiruzen gasped as Naru's new eye spun into the Sharingan that he'd been gifted.

Hiruzen had to drag a wailing Naru away from the proud Uchiha's corpse.

'There may not be any evidence to prove that you're implicated in this Danzo, but you _will_ pay for this,' Hiruzen vowed.

 **..::..**

Naru stood with the rest of his graduating class. Despite his exceptional skill, Naru had declined to be moved to a higher class. He refused to leave Sakura's side. So many things had happened since Shisui's passing and his gift. Training with Itachi became harder as the Sandaime approved the Uchiha training him to increase his proficiency with the Sharingan.

Itachi tried to distance himself from Naru, but Naru refused to lose another precious person. In their efforts, they grew closer and Naru had been certain that Itachi had been his first crush.

But then the Uchiha Massacre happened.

Naru knew there was something going on, especially since he'd spied several Uchiha spying on him while training with Itachi. The Uchiha Clan Elders weren't happy that _another_ non-Uchiha now wielded their sacred bloodline, but with the Sandaime and Itachi protecting him … there was nothing anyone could do to get the Sharingan back. Naru had been adamant that Itachi was innocent in his 'crimes' and still refused to believe anything to the contrary on the matter.

Naru had fallen into a slump through it all. Naru had been wrestling with his identity and he'd come to a conclusion … one that Inoichi had agreed was the root of his problem.

Naru wanted to be a real girl.

After being treated as both sexes, Naru had come to the conclusion due to one simple thing. He wanted a family one day, but the thought of _being_ with a woman to go about it made him ill. He was attracted to men, but not because he was gay either.

No, Naru wanted to be a woman and he'd begun to research possible Jutsus to help. It was in his research that he created the Oiroke no Jutsu (Sexy Technique). The only disappointing element to the Jutsu was that it was only temporary and it left him empty inside when the Jutsu ran out and he returned to being a boy.

The biggest shaker that rocked his life was the distance that Sakura had put between them. She'd grown to be attracted to Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's younger brother and it strained their closeness. Oh Sakura still loved him like a brother and their relationship was still close, but it showed that Sakura was changing into a teenager and was finding boys attractive.

Naru couldn't judge … he'd perved on a few and fantasized about Itachi often, but Naru knew that it was impossible until he was a real woman.

But here they were. Graduating from the Ninja Academy and waiting on their Assigned Teams to be announced.

"Team Seven under Kakashi Hatake: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Kiba Inuzuka."

Naru felt his heart stop as he discovered that he wasn't going to be with Sakura, but he knew the outcome was irreversible.

"Team Eight under Kurenai Yūhi: Hinata Hyūga, Shino Aburame and Naru Haruno."

"Team Nine is still in circulation."

"Team Ten under Asuma Sarutobi: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akimichi."

The instructor smiled sadly at Naru. "I'm sorry Naru, but the Sandaime personally selected the teams this year."

"I understand, Iruka-sensei," Naru tried to smile – his one black and one blue eye looking dejected prevented the smile from looking genuine. "The Hokage's orders are final … as is his team selection."

"Don't worry," Iruka smiled. "I'm sure you'll become great friends with your new team."

"Of course," Naru smiled reassuringly to his teacher. Once Iruka had left, Naru approached Shino as he was the closest teammate. "Hello there, Shino-san. Would you like to sit with me and enjoy the wonderful day outside?"

Shino remained silent and after a tense moment, nodded in acceptance. Naru smiled and turned to Hinata. "And you Hinata-san? Would you like to enjoy a lovely day outside to become better acquainted?"

Hinata nodded shyly as she glanced to Kiba loudly shouting at Sasuke about Kami knew what.

'I hope sensei is nice,' was Naru's thought as the new Team Eight left the room.

 **..::..**

 **There we go for this idea. I hope you enjoy it and know that I am working on my other stories in my free time, but my first priority is to catch up at work. More about the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi will be added if I write a chapter 02.**

 **AN1 – The Weapon is Nora Valkyrie's Hammer also called Magnhild. Her character is from RWBY.**

 **..::..**

 **AS ALWAYS: PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.**

 **..::..**

 **\^o^/**


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